Centre Wellington councillors and a handful of citizens in the gallery heard on Jan. 18 several changes to the Municipal Elections Act.
Clerk Marion Morris presented a list issued just prior to Christmas by the provincial government.
After years of elections the second Monday of November, the province changed it to the last Monday of October. The reason is to accommodate people who travel during the winter, anticipation of better weather with an earlier date, and the new date is before daylight savings time comes into affect.
Nominations are open and they will close on Sept 10. from 8:30am to 2pm. Nominations may be withdrawn up until 2pm on Sept. 10. Acclamations will be declared at 4pm on Sept. 13.
Morris reported that the changes are designed to create a level playing field for candidates. That incudes forcing the clerk to “have regard to the needs of electors and candidates with disabilities. In addition, the clerk is required to submit a report to council within 90 days after voting day in a regular election, regarding identification, removal and prevention of barriers that affect electors and candidates with disabilities. The clerk will also be required to provide an estimate of a candidate’s spending limits, which increased.They were 70 cents per elector, and it is now 85 cents.
All candidates must file a financial statement at the end of the campaign (Dec. 31). The clerk will give each candidate a copy of the form when nomination papers are handed filed.
There are other significant dates for the election:
– April 28, the last day to pass a bylaw to put a question on the ballot;
– June 1, deadline for placing a question of the minister, local board or upper tier municipality and a fluoridation question on the ballot; and
– June 1, deadline for approval of the vote counting equipment or an alternative procedure. Whatever procedures chosen are to be provided to the candidates on June 1 rather than Sept. 1.
The province is assuming a better voters’ list. The Municipal property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) will have access to statistics records, and will enter into an agreement with the federal and provincial government for greater accuracy of election information. The clerk may also use sources of information in the municipality’s possession when correcting the preliminary list of electors for obvious errors.
All eligible electors will be required to provide proof of identity and residency in order to obtain a ballot at the voting location, but an elector on the voters’ list without identification may make a statutory declaration. In Centre Wellington, Morris said, only electors voting at the municipal centre will need identification.
Those making financial contributions to campaigns are limited to a maximum of $5,000 to those running for office on the same council or board; any campaign surplus is provided to the clerk and belongs to the municipality; expenses for a candidate’s disability are excluded from the spending limit. There will be increases in fines for breaking the Municipal Election Act.
Morris said the clerk is required to make candidates’ financial statements available to the public in an electronic formate, free of charge.
The deadline for filing financial statements is 2pm on March 25, 2011.The second, six month supplementary campaign period has been eliminated. Campaign surpluses must be filed with the clerk and become property of the municipality.
The maximum contribution a citizen can make to a candidate is $750, and a contributor cannot make contributions exceeding $5,000 to two or more candidates for office on the same council or local board.
Each council and local board is required to establish a compliance audit committee prior to Oct. 1. It will be made up of citizens and will not include employees, officers of a municipality, or members of the council or local board so any persons who are candidates in the election. Those committees will have a minimum of three members and a maximum of seven and serve a four year term. The clerk has yet to recommend what method of voting will take place, and she said that is likely coming in March.