Off-Reserve Mail-in Ballots and Advanced Voting FAQs – Listuguj Band Election

Q: How do I receive an off-reserve mail-in voting package?

A: All off-reserve voters (that have a registered Band number for Listuguj yet have a home/work/school address that is off-reserve) are eligible for mail voting packages. Each voter must submit their names and contact information and notify the Electoral officer or Assistant Electoral Officer of any changes of address.

Q: When do the mail-in ballots have to be returned?

A: Seal and drop the return envelope in the mail as soon as possible. It must be received by the Electoral Officer no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day (June 7th, 2014), so allow time for transit. Please consider the length of time for mail service delivery; generally speaking it takes 5-10 days. The Electoral Officer will receive mail up until the morning of Election Day. You may also deliver your envelope to the Electoral Officer at the Alaqsite’w Gitpu School on Election Day.

Q: Are we allowed to have another person deliver our mail-in voting packages at the polls on Election Day?

A: Yes. From the Electoral Officer’s Handbook: “The Regulations allow persons to hand deliver mail-in ballot packages to the Electoral Officer at the polling station. Any person delivering a completed mail-in ballot package on polling day on behalf of another elector must complete and sign a “Declaration of Persons Delivering Mail-in Ballot Packages” for each mail-in ballot package delivered.

Q: May I still vote in person on Election Day even if I received a mail-in ballot?

A: Yes. Whether you have already mailed in your voting package or not, you still have the right to vote in person on Election Day. HOWEVER, if you do vote in person, your mail-in ballot will be discarded at the counting process. As per 8.8.1 “Voting in Person”, if the elector returns the mail-in ballot, he or she can vote right away. If the elector does not have the mail-in ballot package on hand, he or she must complete a “Declaration of Lost or Misplaced Mail-in Ballot”.

Q: As an on-reserve elector, may I vote in advance prior to Election Day?

A: Yes, an elector may fill out a ballot in advance. Subsection 5(6) of the Regulations allows us to provide a mail-in voting package to electors who reside on the reserve at their request. At all costs, we must avoid giving the mail-in ballot package to a person other than the elector him or herself. The Electoral Officer or Assistant may either mail or hand-deliver the mail-in ballots to these electors. They must meet the Electoral and/or Assistant Electoral officer at the Listuguj Band Office and sign the following declaration: “For reasons beyond my control – I believe it would be difficult for me to vote on June 7th, 2014.” The advanced ballots (which are in sealed envelopes) are only opened at the beginning of the counting process just like the mail-in ballots.

If any individual has any further questions and/or concerns which we have not addressed regarding “Election 2014,” please do not hesitate to contact the following:
Michel Poirier, Electoral Officer: (418) 364-7585 / Cell (418) 392-9010
Christine (Tina) Barnaby, Assistant Electoral Officer: (418) 788-2136 / Cell: (506) 987-7777 or e-mail tinabarnaby@listuguj.ca