Amendments to the Elections and Plebiscites Act (Northwest Territories) now in force
2 June 2010 | Voting
Bill 7, An Act to amend the Elections and Plebiscites Act, received assent on 20 May 2010. The amendments are now in force and will be in place for the 2011 territorial election on 3 October.
Among other amendments, Bill 7 establishes a new process for voter identification and allows the use of multi-district polls.
The new voter identification requirements are similar to the federal requirements. In order to receive a ballot, voters must be able to provide proof of residency and identity. If a voter does not have documentation that proves their residence and identity they can be vouched for by another voter who has been identified. However, voters can only vouch for one other person during an election.
The amendments allow the Chief Electoral Officer to establish multi-district polls, where voters from different electoral districts can cast their ballots for their own districts. THese multi-district polls will likely be used at colleges and remote workplaces, to help students and workers from other districts in the voting process.