TOWN OF VIEW ROYAL FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION REPORT: 2022 GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION REVIEW

2022 GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION REVIEW

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT, as part of the Town’s climate action commitment to mitigate climate change at the local level, Election Procedures Bylaw No. 989 and Sign Bylaw No. 950 be amended to remove provisions for election signs.

CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER’S COMMENTS:

I concur with the recommendation.

PURPOSE OF REPORT:

1. To provide a summary of the 2022 general local government election.
2. To advise of a change in vote tabulating equipment to be used in future elections.
3. To consider options for election signs.

BACKGROUND:

After general local elections, it is important to review the activity around the event to ensure improvements can be made for future elections. For example, past changes have seen bylaw amendments made to introduce mail ballot voting, change how candidates’ names appear on the ballots, and change the date for the second advance voting opportunity.

For 2022, Election Procedures Bylaw No. 989 was amended to formally protect the Town’s logo and to introduce ten election sign zones.

This report provides a brief overview of the 2022 election and proposes changes to the election sign zone provisions.

DISCUSSION:

Voting by Location

The 2022 local government election was held on Saturday, October 15, 2022 with two advance polling days held on October 5 (Province-wide advance voting day) and October 11 (the Town’s additional advance voting opportunity).

Of the 2,382 ballots cast in the Town’s 2022 election, voting location breaks out as follows:

• 708 electors voted during the two advance polling days at Town Hall (in Council Chambers);
• 41 electors voted using mail-in ballot packages from the 63 requested packages;
• 1,035 electors voted at View Royal Elementary on general voting day; and
• 598 electors voted at Eagle View Elementary on general voting day.

For comparison purposes, the information from the 2018 election is as follows:

• 2,244 ballots cast;
• 597 electors voted during the two advance polling days at Town Hall;
• 5 electors voted using mail-in ballot packages from the 8 requested packages;
• 1,137 electors voted at View Royal Elementary School on general voting day; and
• 505 electors voted at Eagle View Elementary School on general voting day.

Voter Participation Rates

The following table provides voter participation rates for the municipality for the past four local government elections and also shows the municipal turn-out rate province-wide while the chart below visually presents the same information.

Vote Tabulators

At the View Royal Elementary School voting location, the vote tabulating unit began to not function on the morning of general voting day despite advance servicing and extensive testing. This issue was addressed immediately by the Chief Election Officer who was also the presiding election official on site at the time. In keeping with the provisions described in the Town’s Automated Vote Counting System Authorization and Procedure Bylaw No. 480, 2002 should a vote tabulating unit not function, voted ballots were placed into a portable ballot box for later vote tabulating unit counting that day. The equipment the Town has been using was purchased a number of years ago and has served the Town well up until this time and has proven to be more cost effective than rental. Future elections will see a change from the vote tabulating units used in 2022 to newer equipment which should eliminate the issues experienced in October.

Election Sign Zones

New in 2022 was the introduction of ten election sign zones, implemented through an amendment to Election Procedures Bylaw No. 989. When the Bylaw was being considered for adoption, Council opted to take a “wait and see” approach with respect to enforcement provisions and instead determine the need to implement ticketing provisions after the 2022 election. This report provides that follow-up piece.

Election sign zones reduced the number of election signs in the municipality compared both to prior election years and to what was seen in other municipalities. Staff did receive several complaints and followed-up with site visits and then written requests to the candidates whose signs were outside of the prescribed zones. The main areas of bylaw non-compliance were either the placement of election signs in the vicinity of the ten identified zones but not within the zone itself, or the election signs were placed on the street in front of a private residential property, but not on the private property itself. Staff requests for bylaw compliance were not always met with follow-through, creating an uneven playing field amongst the candidates.

To avoid this result again in future election proceedings, the matter can be addressed through a variety of options:

Option 1 – Remove Election Signs This option proposes that changes could be made to Election Procedures Bylaw No. 989 and Sign Bylaw No. 950 to remove the provision for any election signs. In the 2022 election campaign, some candidates in the region, including in View Royal, opted to have no election signs. This “sign-free” approach a.) speaks clearly to the Town’s climate action commitment; b.) removes the expense of sign production for candidates which may be a barrier for some; and c.) creates a level playing field amongst candidates.

Option 2 – Amend the MTI Bylaw This option proposes an amendment to the Municipal Ticket Information Bylaw No. 643 to see a ticketing provision applied to encourage bylaw compliance given that the detailed written requests, describing the infraction and requesting compliance, was not always successful to achieve results. Attachment “A” is a draft bylaw amendment for this option.

Option 3 – Change Nothing This option sees the ten election sign zones remain in place and adds no enforcement tools. Should this approach be selected, staff propose that no complaint follow-up be provided by staff in future election proceedings – save for signs placed that create unsafe situations – given the challenging position it puts staff in to enforce with no tools, only partial compliance, and other calls for service with ticketing in place to better ensure results for the community.

Option 4 – Remove Provision for Election Sign Zones This option sees the return to election sign usage as it was prior to the 2022 election – no election sign zones/no limitations on the number of signs per candidate. As a reminder, the images below are from one intersection in Saanich during the October 2022 election campaign where there are no election sign zones in place:

Staff recommend Option 1 – the elimination of election signs. This statement is bold and unequivocally states Council’s vision for the removal of both plastics (given that corrugated plastics are the primary material used to make affordable election signs) and what some in the community may view as visual pollution.

If the decision is made to have a “no election sign” approach for the municipality, that would apply to all candidates for all election proceedings; that is not only for the Town’s elections, but also for federal, provincial and school district elections.

If Option 1 is not supportable by the Committee, Option 2, where an amendment to the Municipal Ticket Bylaw is made, would provide staff with a tool to undertake enforcement.

CONCLUSION:

It is important to evaluate what worked and what can be improved after an election. Future elections will see the use of new vote tabulating equipment after having the use of owned, older equipment for several election cycles. With respect to election signs and election sign zones, the staff recommended option to remove election signs reinforces Council’s climate action commitment while simultaneously creating a level playing field for all candidates as it removes barriers and potential differences.

TIME CRITICAL:

While it is good to debrief and evaluate the impact of 2022 bylaw initiatives in relation to the election, this report and its recommendations are not time critical given that the next federal election is set for October 20, 2025, the next provincial election is set for October 19, 2024, and the next local government election is set for October 17, 2026.

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT, as part of the Town’s climate action commitment to mitigate climate change at the local level, Election Procedures Bylaw No. 989 and Sign Bylaw No. 950 be amended to remove provisions for election signs.

SUBMITTED BY: S. Jones, Corporate Officer

SUBMITTED BY: E. Bolster, Deputy Corporate Officer

REVIEWED BY: K. Anema, Chief Administrative Officer