Elections BC (formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia) is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, plebiscites in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its federal equivalent is Elections Canada.
Elections BC is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia Legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, plebiscites in British Columbia. Elections BC compiles and maintains a list of eligible voters as well as sets and adjusts the boundaries of electoral districts.[2]
Elections BC is also responsible for regulating campaign financing and advertising and the registration of political parties. To retain their official status, political parties must file annual financial reports with Elections BC.[2][3] Registration entitles parties to have their name on the ballot where they run candidates, issue tax receipts and spend on election campaigns.[4] As of 4 November 2015[update], 22 political parties are registered in British Columbia.[5]
In advance of elections, a district electoral officer (DEO) and a deputy district electoral officer (DDEO) represent Elections BC in each electoral district and establish a temporary office to conduct the election, often shortly before the writ of election is dropped by the government.
Elections BC is subject to the following legislation: Election Act (1996),[6]Financial Disclosure Act (1996),[7]Local Government Act (1996),[8] the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (2014).,[9] and the Recall and Initiative Act (1996).[10]
Scheduled election dates
British Columbia was the first province to legislate fixed dates for elections. The next provincial election was set for October 16, 2021. On September 21, 2020, John Horgan called a snap election for October 24, 2020.[11]
Referendums
In 2015, Elections BC spent $5,372,380 to administer the 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite, a cost of about $3.44 per voter.[12] A total of 1,572,861 voting packages were issued and 798,262 (51 per cent) returned to Elections BC. About 62 per cent of Metro Vancouver voters rejected a proposal for a half-per-cent sales tax increase to fund a 10-year, $7.5-billion upgrade to transportation by TransLink. About 290,000 voted yes, while 467,000 voted no. About 38,393 ballot packages received by deadline were rejected because they did not meet the requirements of the plebiscite.[13]
Candidacy fees and requirements
A candidate is required under the Election Act to gather the signatures of 75 valid voters in their electoral district. A nomination deposit of $250 per candidate is required. Candidates who receive 15 per cent of the total vote receive a full refund. All others forfeit the deposit.[14]
Chief electoral officers
Chief electoral officers forfeit their right to vote in elections they oversee. They may not be a member of a political party or contribute to candidate campaigns.[15]
The position of chief electoral officer was created in 1947. Prior to that time, the responsibility for overseeing elections had been assigned to the registrar of the Supreme Court from 1871–1899, then to the deputy provincial secretary from 1899–1940. In 1940, the position of registrar general of voters was created to take over some of the deputy provincial secretary's duties. In 1950, the chief electoral officer was also appointed registrar general of voters. The positions were subsequently held jointly until the position of registrar general of voters was abolished in 1995. In 1995, the chief electoral officer became an independent officer of the Legislature.[16]
Current and previous officers
Anton Boegman (June 1, 2018 – present)
Keith Archer (September 21, 2011 – May 1, 2018)
Harry Neufeld (November 7, 2002 – June 5, 2010)
Robert A. Patterson (May 2, 1990 – June 6, 2002)
Harry Morris Goldberg (April 15, 1980 – May 2, 1990)
Kenneth Loudon Morton (June 1, 1968 – October 1, 1979)
Frederick Harold Hurley (April 1, 1947 – June 1, 1968)[17]
Note: Enumeration or voter registration expenses were included in total election expenses up to the 2001 election. As of 2005, Elections BC excluded enumeration expenses from its calculation of total election expenses.
^"British Columbians heading to the polls on October 24 in fall election". Global News. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
^Hui, Stephen (September 22, 2015). "Elections B.C. says transit referendum cost $5.4 million". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
^Morton, Brian (September 22, 2015). "Elections BC to review rejection of more than 38,000 Transit Plebiscite ballots". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
^ ab"2017 Provincial General Election - Report of the Chief Electoral Officer" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ ab"Report of the Chief Electoral Officer — 42nd Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. July 27, 2021. (PDF) from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
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Elections BC formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia is a non partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections by elections petitions referendums plebiscites in the Canadian province of British Columbia Its federal equivalent is Elections Canada Elections BCAgency overviewFormed1995JurisdictionBritish ColumbiaHeadquarters100 1112 Fort Street Victoria British ColumbiaEmployees44 permanent up to 32 000 election period 1 Annual budget 8 961 000 1 Agency executiveAnton Boegman chief electoral officerWebsitewww wbr elections wbr bc wbr ca Contents 1 Responsibilities 2 Scheduled election dates 3 Referendums 4 Candidacy fees and requirements 5 Chief electoral officers 5 1 Current and previous officers 6 Election expenses 6 1 Candidates per election 7 References 8 External linksResponsibilities EditElections BC is a non partisan office of the British Columbia Legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections by elections petitions referendums plebiscites in British Columbia Elections BC compiles and maintains a list of eligible voters as well as sets and adjusts the boundaries of electoral districts 2 Elections BC is also responsible for regulating campaign financing and advertising and the registration of political parties To retain their official status political parties must file annual financial reports with Elections BC 2 3 Registration entitles parties to have their name on the ballot where they run candidates issue tax receipts and spend on election campaigns 4 As of 4 November 2015 update 22 political parties are registered in British Columbia 5 In advance of elections a district electoral officer DEO and a deputy district electoral officer DDEO represent Elections BC in each electoral district and establish a temporary office to conduct the election often shortly before the writ of election is dropped by the government Elections BC is subject to the following legislation Election Act 1996 6 Financial Disclosure Act 1996 7 Local Government Act 1996 8 the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act 2014 9 and the Recall and Initiative Act 1996 10 Scheduled election dates EditBritish Columbia was the first province to legislate fixed dates for elections The next provincial election was set for October 16 2021 On September 21 2020 John Horgan called a snap election for October 24 2020 11 Referendums EditIn 2015 Elections BC spent 5 372 380 to administer the 2015 Metro Vancouver Transportation and Transit Plebiscite a cost of about 3 44 per voter 12 A total of 1 572 861 voting packages were issued and 798 262 51 per cent returned to Elections BC About 62 per cent of Metro Vancouver voters rejected a proposal for a half per cent sales tax increase to fund a 10 year 7 5 billion upgrade to transportation by TransLink About 290 000 voted yes while 467 000 voted no About 38 393 ballot packages received by deadline were rejected because they did not meet the requirements of the plebiscite 13 Candidacy fees and requirements EditA candidate is required under the Election Act to gather the signatures of 75 valid voters in their electoral district A nomination deposit of 250 per candidate is required Candidates who receive 15 per cent of the total vote receive a full refund All others forfeit the deposit 14 Chief electoral officers EditChief electoral officers forfeit their right to vote in elections they oversee They may not be a member of a political party or contribute to candidate campaigns 15 The position of chief electoral officer was created in 1947 Prior to that time the responsibility for overseeing elections had been assigned to the registrar of the Supreme Court from 1871 1899 then to the deputy provincial secretary from 1899 1940 In 1940 the position of registrar general of voters was created to take over some of the deputy provincial secretary s duties In 1950 the chief electoral officer was also appointed registrar general of voters The positions were subsequently held jointly until the position of registrar general of voters was abolished in 1995 In 1995 the chief electoral officer became an independent officer of the Legislature 16 Current and previous officers Edit Anton Boegman June 1 2018 present Keith Archer September 21 2011 May 1 2018 Harry Neufeld November 7 2002 June 5 2010 Robert A Patterson May 2 1990 June 6 2002 Harry Morris Goldberg April 15 1980 May 2 1990 Kenneth Loudon Morton June 1 1968 October 1 1979 Frederick Harold Hurley April 1 1947 June 1 1968 17 Election expenses EditElection Year Total election expenses Electoral division cost CEO office cost Voter registration cost Electors on list Average cost elector Turnout Percentage Sources1996 15 574 526 8 891 749 5 186 654 1 496 123 2 227 424 6 99 1 592 655 71 5 18 2001 18 129 588 11 607 098 5 186 654 1 615 849 2 254 920 8 1 599 765 70 95 19 20 21 2005 22 909 644 13 624 872 9 284 772 3 244 918 2 845 284 8 1 774 269 58 19 22 23 24 2009 35 260 610 21 170 173 14 090 437 2 912 687 3 238 737 12 1 651 567 51 25 26 2013 34 808 125 22 874 036 11 934 089 5 982 981 3 116 626 10 96 1 813 912 57 1 27 2017 39 450 034 22 407 049 17 042 985 6 272 500 3 246 647 12 15 1 986 371 61 2 28 2020 51 603 932 29 400 057 22 203 875 3 524 812 14 64 1 898 553 53 9 29 Note Enumeration or voter registration expenses were included in total election expenses up to the 2001 election As of 2005 Elections BC excluded enumeration expenses from its calculation of total election expenses Candidates per election Edit Election year Total candidates Electoral districts Political parties Registered constituency associations Sources1991 317 75 30 1996 513 75 18 142 30 2001 456 79 28 205 31 2005 412 79 45 163 32 33 2009 345 85 32 128 34 35 2013 376 85 26 159 27 36 2017 371 87 28 28 2020 332 87 28 29 References Edit a b Elections BC 2007 2008 Annual Report a b http www elections bc ca index php about what we do Elections BC What We Do web page Accessed October 21 2015 http www elections bc ca index php about About Elections BC web page Accessed October 21 2015 http www bclaws ca civix document LOC complete statreg 20E 20 Election 20Act 20 5BRSBC 201996 5D 20c 20106 00 Act 96106 09 xml part9 Election Act Part 9 Registration of Political Parties and Constituency Associations http www elections bc ca docs fin Registered Political Parties Information pdf Registered Political Parties http www bclaws ca civix document id complete statreg 96106 00 Election Act legislation http www bclaws ca civix document id complete statreg 96139 01 Financial Disclosure Act legislation http www bclaws ca civix document LOC complete statreg 20L 20 Local 20Government 20Act 20 5BRSBC 201996 5D 20c 20323 00 Act 96323 04 xml section42 Local Government Act Part 3 http www bclaws ca civix document id complete statreg 14018 Local Elections Campaign Financing Act legislation Table of Contents Recall and Initiative Act British Columbians heading to the polls on October 24 in fall election Global News Retrieved September 21 2020 Hui Stephen September 22 2015 Elections B C says transit referendum cost 5 4 million The Georgia Straight Retrieved March 3 2016 Morton Brian September 22 2015 Elections BC to review rejection of more than 38 000 Transit Plebiscite ballots The Vancouver Sun Retrieved March 3 2016 http www bclaws ca civix document LOC complete statreg 20E 20 Election 20Act 20 5BRSBC 201996 5D 20c 20106 00 Act 96106 05 xml part5 Election Act Part 5 Candidates http www bclaws ca civix document LOC complete statreg 20E 20 Election 20Act 20 5BRSBC 201996 5D 20c 20106 00 Act 96106 02 xml section5 Election Act Election and Other Officials The Chief Electoral Officer April 30 2008 Retrieved March 3 2016 http www elections bc ca index php about ceo Elections BC CEOs http www elections bc ca docs rpt 1996 SOVGeneralElection pdf General Election Report 1996 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2001GEResults 2001 SOVGeneralElection pdf General Election Results 2001 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2001 arep pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2001 http www elections bc ca docs rpt ceofin2001 pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 37th Provincial General Election http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2005GEResults SOV GEcomplete pdf Elections BC Statement of Votes 38th Provincial General Election May 17 2005 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2005 CEOreportRefOnElectoralReform pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer 38th Provincial General Election 2005 Referendum on Electoral Reform May 17 2005 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2005 TargetedEnumeration pdf Report of the Chief Electoral Officer Targeted Enumeration and Voter Registration http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2009GE 2009 GE SOV pdf Elections BC Statement of Votes 39th Provincial General Election May 12 2009 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2009EnumerationReport pdf Elections BC Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 2009 Enumeration a b http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2013 General Election Report pdf Elections BC Report of the Chief Electoral Officer on the 40th Provincial General Election May 14 2013 a b 2017 Provincial General Election Report of the Chief Electoral Officer PDF Elections BC Retrieved November 18 2020 a b Report of the Chief Electoral Officer 42nd Provincial General Election PDF Elections BC July 27 2021 Archived PDF from the original on July 27 2021 Retrieved August 31 2021 a b http www elections bc ca docs rpt 96 arep pdf Elections BC 1995 1996 Annual Report http www elections bc ca docs rpt 2001GEResults 2001 SOVGeneralElection pdf Elections BC Statement of Votes 37th Provincial General Election May 16 2001 http www elections bc ca docs rpt 0405AnnualReport pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2004 2005 http www elections bc ca docs news n 050504 pdf BC Chief Electoral Office News Release 2005 Provincial General Election Nomination of Candidates May 4 2005 http www elections bc ca index php news 2009 candidates Archived May 15 2009 at the Wayback Machine Elections BC news release Your Candidates for the 2009 Provincial General Election http www elections bc ca docs rpt 0809 Annual Report pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2008 2009 http www elections bc ca docs rpt AR1213SP1316 pdf Elections BC Annual Report 2012 2013External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elections BC amp oldid 1116690115, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
