The committee met at 10:05 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): First up we have Elections B.C. supplementary funding requests. I’d like to say hello to Anton Boegman, the new Chief Electoral Officer.

Thank you so much. If you want to just introduce your staff, and then we have a presentation.

Supplementary Funding Requests

ELECTIONS B.C.

A. Boegman: Good morning, Mr. Chair, Mr. Deputy Chair and committee members. I’ve appeared before this committee a number of times previously as Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, but today it’s my pleasure to be here as Chief Electoral Officer.

A Voice: Congratulations. [Applause.]

A. Boegman: Thank you.

My presentation, as mentioned, is for Elections B.C. 2018-19 event budget request necessary to administer the 2018 referendum on electoral reform.

I’m joined at the table, on my right, by Tanya Ackinclose, our manager of finance, and, on my left, by Jodi Cooke, our manager of provincial electoral finance. Although they will not be formally presenting to the committee, they’re here today to add their expertise to the discussion.

Since our December meeting with this committee, Elections B.C. has made two additional presentations for supplemental and event funding. We met in February of 2018 for the Kelowna West by-election event budget and for supplemental funding to enable Elections B.C. to administer the new campaign finance rules established by Bills 3 and 15. We also met in early May to present event funding requirements for an initiative petition and interim funding requirements for the referendum, to order the necessary paper products.

This is our third meeting this year. It’s been a very busy time for Elections B.C., but we are pleased to be able to meet on a more frequent basis with the committee.

I’ll begin by providing an overview of our referendum event funding requirements. To provide context, I will also provide a summary of the vote-by-mail process describing key operational aspects. As part of this discussion, I will identify what is unique about this referendum and highlight what has changed in vote by mail since the last provincewide vote-by-mail referendum in 2011. After this presentation, we are pleased to respond to your comments and questions.

As you are aware, the event funding that is required by Elections B.C. to administer its mandate varies from year to year, depending on the on-demand electoral events that we are required to administer and according to where we are in our four-year election cycle. When possible, we include any known event funding requirements with our annual operating and capital funding presentation to this committee each fall. Outside of this time period, however, we request to meet with the committee as necessary once the specific requirements of an on-demand event are known.

Although Elections B.C. has statutory spending authority under legislation for events within our mandate, it’s very important that we meet with this committee to advise of our plans, the associated funding requirements and to provide committee members with an opportunity for question and answer.

You should have before you the background information on the referendum budget request, including the funding memo, the statutory officer budget submission financial spreadsheet and a supplemental appendix that describes the process. The referendum budget has been developed using our planning framework, whereby the specific deliverables necessary to administer an event are identified, scheduled and then fully costed.

Our approach to budgeting for the 2018 referendum on electoral reform is consistent with the approach used to plan and budget for past events and, indeed, for all of our ongoing activities. I would describe our approach as one of responsible use of the public funds entrusted to us to administer accessible and inclusive events in which all eligible voters have the necessary information about how to participate. Wherever possible, we look to improve the efficiency of our processes while maintaining integrity and accuracy. We also continue to adapt our processes so that they continue to meet changing voter expectations where permitted under legislation. Voting is, after all, the provision of a service with the voter at the centre.

[10:10 a.m.]

The total event budget for the vote-by-mail referendum is $14.561 million. This includes $14.511 million for fiscal year 2018-19 and $50,000 for fiscal year ’19-20. We have already received $770,000 this year for the purchase of paper products related to the event, so this event funding request is for $13.741 million. The $50,000 for ’19-20 will be requested at our fall 2018 meeting. The specific details of this budget request are shown on page 2 and in column 6 of the spreadsheet on page 3 of your document.

This funding will provide for the full administration of the referendum, including educating the public on the voting systems that are the subject of the referendum; creating over 3.35 million multi-part voting packages; preparing the mailing list and mailing voting packages to registered voters throughout the province; providing 12 weeks of information and services to voters through a 1-800 contact centre, on line and in person at 62 Service B.C. offices and nine referendum service offices; overseeing referendum campaign finance, including official opponent and proponent participation; and, finally, preparing the ballots for counting, tabulating votes and reporting referendum results to the Legislature and to the public.

How will the referendum work? The document entitled 2018 Referendum on Electoral Reform Process Overview, included as an appendix to your package, provides an overall description of the event. I will not repeat that information word for word but will, rather, provide a high-level summary of the key processes and their associated funding requirements.

I’ll start with the proponent-opponent selection, public funding and campaign finance. The referendum regulation has established that this event will have proponent and op­po­nent groups, each with $500,000 in public funding. I’ve been given the responsibility to select these groups, based on the set eligibility and assessment criteria in the regulation. The deadline to submit applications was on July 6, 2018, and two applications were received by that date.

Designated proponent and opponent groups are eligible to receive the public funding through their appointed financial agent. This money must only be used to promote or to oppose proportional representation through referendum advertising or through free public events. There are serious consequences, including monetary penalties, if these groups misuse the public funds. Opponent and proponent groups can also fundraise and spend up to an additional $200,000 on referendum expenses.

During the campaign period from July 1 until November 30, 2018, Elections B.C. will oversee the event’s campaign financing provisions. This includes participation registration; facilitating compliance with the rules; enforcement, as necessary; and post-event financial reporting. The specifics of these activities are detailed on page 5 of the appendix that is part of your information package.

The budgeted costs associated with the opponent-proponent selection, public funding and campaign finance in this fiscal year total approximately $1.135 million, with $1 million of that for public funding.

Next, public education and the voter information program. Elections B.C. has a new mandate for this referendum: to deliver neutral and factual information to the public about the voting systems on the ballot. This is in addition to our usual voter communications program designed to tell voters how and when to vote. This new mandate is significant and will require considerable effort to design content and identify effective communication channels and processes.

Public education material is currently being developed and will be rolled out over the summer, on line and via social media. The full integrated communications program will be launched in September with the mailing of an information card to all provincial households; with newspaper, on-line and radio advertising; and with continued social media. Advertising messaging will focus on registering to vote, requesting a voting package, returning ballots and key dates. The integrated communications program will continue through the close of voting on November 30.

In mid-October, approximately two weeks before the voting packages are distributed, a comprehensive voters’ guide will be mailed to all provincial households. This second mailing will provide neutral information on the referendum, the four voting systems that are on the ballot, as well as general information on eligibility to participate, how to register and vote, and key event dates.

This information will have previously been made available on Elections B.C.’s referendum webpages, along with a number of additional useful tools for voters, including short videos on each voting system and explanations of all steps in the vote-by-mail process.

To support accessibility in our culturally diverse province, the instructions contained in the householders and voting package will be translated into 14 languages and made available on line for reference. Ballot templates will be available for visually impaired voters to help them mark their ballot independently, along with Braille ballot translations.

[10:15 a.m.]

As part of our public education and voter information pro­grams, Elections B.C. will also conduct outreach with post-secondary institutions, First Nations communities, snow­birds and local community groups.

Budgeted costs associated with the public education and voter communications program total approximately $3.195 million, or 22.5 percent of the overall event budget. The main cost drivers are referendum advertising, printing and mailing four million householders, salaries and benefits of pub­lic education contact centre staff, outreach activities, voter surveys, and Braille and translation services.

Issuing voting packages. Referendum operations will begin with the mailing of voting packages to 3.3 million regis­tered voters throughout the province between October 22 and November 2, 2018. Each voting package consists of a ballot, a secrecy sleeve, customized certification envelope, return envelope, neutral information about the voting systems on the ballot, and instructions for marking the ballot and returning it to Elections B.C.

Eligible voters who are not currently registered or regis­tered voters who do not receive their voting package may contact Elections B.C. before midnight on November 23 to register and request a voting package. Registered voters who do not receive a voting package in the initial mailing, perhaps because it went to a previous address, can request a replacement package. Before a replacement package is sent, the original package will be cancelled in Elections B.C.’s voting package tracking system, such that it will not be opened if it is subsequently returned to Elections B.C.

Voters who spoil their ballot can also request a voting package under the same process. Voters who will be away from their usual residence during the voting period can request that their voting package be sent to a temporary alternate mailing address.

There are three accessible channels to contact Elections B.C. to register and request a voting package. The contact centre, available through Elections B.C.’s toll-free number, will be open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Our on-line channel is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To provide enhanced accessibility, services may also be accessed starting November 5 at the 62 Service B.C. offices throughout the province, as well as eight referendum service offices, or RSOs, across Metro Vancouver and one at Elections B.C.’s headquarters in Victoria.

These in-person channels are not voting places in the traditional sense. They are focused primarily on providing voters with information on how to participate in the referendum, as well as providing a local drop point for completed ballot packages as an alternative to postage-paid return mail. They also have the ability to register voters and issue voting packages.

The costs associated with ballot issuing are the largest component of the referendum budget, totalling $8.743 million or 60 percent of the overall referendum budget. The single greatest cost item within this group is mailing costs, including the allowance for return mail, which totals $6.27 million, which by itself is 43 percent of the overall budget.

Other main cost drivers include printing the 3.3 million voting packages, temporary staff salaries and benefits for voter service contact centre operators, RSO teams and referendum support staff, setting up the contact centre and RSO offices, the Service B.C. contract costs, enhancements to our vote-by-mail tracking system and IT services support.

Following ballot issuing, we have our ballot package receiving, screening and preparation for counting processes. Most voters will mark their ballot, assemble their package according to the instructions and mail it back to Elections B.C. To be considered for counting, the completed packages must be received by Elections B.C., including Service B.C. and RSOs, before the close of voting at 4:30 p.m. on November 30, 2018.

All ballot packages — whether returned directly by voters through Canada Post, through Service B.C. or an RSO — will be securely delivered to B.C. Mail for initial receipt processing. B.C. Mail staff, who will be appointed as referendum officials, will open the outer envelope, remove the certification envelope, scan an image of the front of the envelope and then securely deliver the certification envelopes to Elections B.C.

While the certification envelopes are being transferred, information from the images on the certification envelopes will be data-entered to enable matching and validation of voter information with the individual voter records from the provincial voters list. Certification envelopes that pass this screening will be accepted for counting and securely stored until the preparations for counting begin.

[10:20 a.m.]

Envelopes that cannot be matched automatically will be reviewed by a referendum official to determine whether the certification envelope can actually be accepted, whether it’s missing information that can be corrected by the voter or whether it must be set aside and not considered for counting. Like in the 2015 Metro Vancouver transportation and transit plebiscite, a correction process will be available for voters who forget to complete mandatory information on their certification envelope.

To prevent voters from inadvertently entering the date that they sign their envelope rather than their date of birth, all certification envelopes will be printed with the first two digits of the voter’s birth year. For most voters, this will be 19. This is a new innovation for Elections B.C., based on best practices used for vote by mail in both the United Kingdom and in the United States.

Those envelopes not able to be accepted under the regulation will be set aside and stored securely and separately from the accepted certification envelopes. Any envelopes that are able to be corrected will be transferred to accepted storage.

Prior to counting ballots, all certification envelopes that have been determined to meet the requirements of the regulation will be opened. Secrecy sleeves containing the ballots will be manually separated from the certification envelopes, ensuring that the secrecy of the ballot is protected. Ballots will then be manually removed from the sleeves, unfolded and visually inspected to ensure that they meet the requirements of the regulation, and sealed in boxes in readiness for tabulation. Those ballots that do not meet the requirements of the regulation will be set aside and will not be considered further.

Budgeted costs associated with ballot receiving, pro­cess­ing and preparation for counting total $1.098 million, or 7.5 percent of the event total. This is a relatively smaller percentage of the overall event budget, compared to the other process groups. One reason for this is that we’ve been able to achieve significant efficiencies in ballot receiving and processing through automation. The primary cost categories here are the salaries and benefits for temporary referendum officials and support staff, certification envelope scanning and data entry services, and processing facility setup and support.

Ballot counting will be conducted using proven ballot tabulation technology on site at Elections B.C.’s secure facility. The technology has been developed by Dominion Voting Canada and is the same system that’s used in vote-by-mail states of Colorado, Oregon and Washington. Dominion Voting is also the vendor that has supplied voting-place tabulators for provincial elections in New Brunswick since 2010, as well as the recent Ontario provincial election. Referendum officials will process the ballots through the tabulators and then adjudicate any results that cannot be automatically determined.

Elections B.C. will conduct an audit of results, using a proven methodology to visually compare a statistically significant number of ballots with their tabulated result, to ensure that the counting technology is functioning as specified. The costs associated with the tabulation technology and results reporting are estimated at $340,000. Using this technology will result in a more accurate and efficient count of results, with significantly less person-hours than what would be required for a completely manual count.

During the voting period, Elections B.C. will publish a weekly summary of ballot package returns by provincial electoral district. Following the completion of counting and results validation, I’ll announce the results through a letter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. Results will be provided on a provincial basis for each question, as well as by provincial electoral district. I will also announce the results publicly through the Elections B.C. website.

Following the event, Elections B.C. will produce a detailed report on the administration and costs of the referendum. Typically, this report is submitted to the Legislature, through the Speaker, within six months of the conclusion of the event.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Vice-Chair and committee members, thank you for the opportunity to present funding requirements necessary to administer the 2018 referendum on electoral reform. You will have noted that these budget requirements are approximately $6.5 million more than what was spent in 2011 to administer the last provincial vote-by-mail referendum.

There are a number of specific reasons for this cost increase, which are identified in the table in the funding memo, on page 2. I would like to briefly go over these cost-increase drivers before closing my presentation and turning proceedings back to the Chair and committee members for comments and questions.

[10:25 a.m.]

The largest increase in the budget falls under the category of advertising and public education materials. This has increased by $2.3 million from what was spent in 2011. The key driver here is Elections B.C.’s new mandate to provide a neutral and factual public education program on the systems that are on the ballot, a requirement that was not present in 2011 nor in the electoral reform referenda of 2005 and 2009. This is a critical component of the referendum, not only so that voters know that a referendum is taking place and how to participate but also so that they can understand the alternatives being proposed and can make an informed choice.

To develop and produce the advertising and public education materials necessary to provide a credible and effective public education program will require a budget of $2.8 million. For comparison, budgeted costs are approximately $250,000 less than what was spent on public awareness advertising for the 2017 provincial election.

The budget for posting and mailing services has also seen a significant increase. Since 2011, mail within British Columbia has increased from 68 cents per piece to $1.19 per piece, an increase of 75 percent. During that time frame, the number of voters registered on the provincial list has also increased by 300,000 voters. As a result, our postage and mailing services costs have increased by $2.3 million from 2011, or an increase of 56 percent. The vote-by-mail event in the province is reliant on Canada Post for delivery and return of voting packages, and our cost structure therefore reflects theirs.

The referendum regulation also established public funding of $500,000 each for an opponent and a proponent group, or $1 million in total. Elections B.C. administered an application process for potential proponents and opponents, and yesterday I announced that the Make Every Voter Count Society, using the name Vote PR B.C., has been selected as the proponent, while the No B.C. Proportional Representation Society has been selected as the opponent. Public funding for this purpose was not present in the 2011 referendum, which has resulted in this cost variance.

As previously mentioned, a proven ballot tabulation system will be used to tally results for the referendum. To ensure a timely and accurate count, given the two-question ballot format with one question requiring a ranked count, it is prudent to use technology. In 2011, all counting of the single-question ballot was done by hand. Therefore, the use of tabulators represents a $340,000 cost variance from that previous event. However, because we’re using ballot tabulators, we require less staff to count ballots, and this savings has been offset against the cost of the tabulators.

Voting-package paper products and production have in­creased by $250,000 from 2011 to 2018. Part of that variance is due to an increase in the cost of paper over the last seven years. The other factor, as mentioned, is the additional 300,000 voting packages that must be produced for the 2018 event, because there are now more voters in B.C. than in 2011.

Wages and benefits for the temporary referendum officials that are hired for the event have also increased since 2011. For this event, we are budgeting $1.3 million for temporary staff, or an increase of $175,000 over 2011. Part of this change is a result of increases to the wage tariff in use for refer­endum officials. Elections B.C. will also be hiring an additional 17 operators for our contact centre, as part of our mandate to provide public education. Due to the increased role of technology in screening certification envelopes and in counting ballots, fewer referendum officials are required for these functions.

Last, there have been relatively modest increases in data entry costs, office rent for the referendum service offices and with the Service B.C. contract.

To summarize, for 2018-19, Elections B.C. will require event funding of $13.741 million to administer their 2018 referendum on electoral reform, as part of an overall event budget of $14.561 million. This translates to an estimated cost of $4.34 per voter, or $4.04 if one does not consider the public-funding aspect of this referendum. This cost is greater than the $2.63 per voter in 2011 and the $3.44 per registered voter in the 2015 plebiscite. It is significantly lower, however, than what would be anticipated for a provincial in-person voting referendum. As a proxy, the 2017 provincial election cost $12.15 cents per registered voter to administer.

This concludes my presentation on these budget requirements. I would now like to turn the floor back to you, Mr. Chair. We will be pleased to respond to any comments or questions that committee members may have.

[10:30 a.m.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): Great. Well, thank you very much for the presentation.

Peter, you had a question.

P. Milobar: Thanks for the presentation. I must admit I was a little surprised yesterday when I saw $14½ million. Given that it was only a couple of months ago that the Attorney General, in estimates, said it would be about $9 million, the 50 percent increase was a bit of a surprise. But you’ve done a good job in mapping out where those increases are.

I guess my question is around the voting packages and the RS centres. There’s already quite a bit of concern — I’m from the Interior — around the threshold being 50 plus one and the large population base in the Lower Mainland.

Can you explain to me the logic around creating stand-alone…? I’m assuming these centres in the Lower Mainland that will be created — people will be able to walk in and only deal with the business of voting. But in the Interior, they’re being asked to go to service centres where people are seeking all other types of business from the provincial government and needing to stand in line. So why not have either stand-alone centres in the Interior, or just have people on the Lower Mainland go to Service B.C. centres, just like everyone else in the province is being asked to do?

A. Boegman: The decision to have the referendum service offices in the Metro area is because there are no Service B.C. offices available there. They don’t exist. So it’s quite simply a matter of accessibility.

We have worked extensively, however, with Service B.C. to provide them with the tools and the training to make sure that it’s a seamless interaction for the voter. The voter will go in, and the voter will be able to get the ballot there. They don’t have to call back to Elections B.C. to do any checking or clarifying. They’ll have the tools to enable the voter to get the package right there and will have the same information that’s available in the referendum offices.

The main reason is that there are no Service B.C. offices within the Metro area.

P. Milobar: Will the Service B.C. centres in the other 62 have a kind of dedicated line for people coming in with voting questions, or will they be in the mix of standing in line waiting, potentially, quite a long time? We know that people don’t even like to wait to vote, let alone if they’re having to wait for everyone else’s unrelated problems to be solved before they get to see a clerk.

A. Boegman: We’re currently in negotiations with Service B.C. That certainly would be our preference — that they would make sure that there is dedicated access for them.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Anton, again, congratulations for this.

Just a follow-up to what was just said. I’ll be very frank. We have a very, very busy Service B.C. in the South Oka­nagan. I was there last week because of my driver’s licence. I always get a class 1, so I have to get it renewed at my age. Conservatively, the lineup was ten to 15 minutes.

To be frank, it is not acceptable, in the Interior and the north, to have people have to wait in line for that amount of time when somebody in the Lower Mainland can walk into a dedicated…. So if they’re dedicated in the Lower Mainland, they’d better be dedicated everywhere else. Upfront and frank.

A. Boegman: Thanks for the comment.

R. Leonard: I’ll just riff on that. I have some other questions as well. I guess the question is around cost. If there is an expectation that there be a dedicated person at the Service B.C.’s throughout the province — I’m not sure what it’s costing to staff the Lower Mainland — what would be the cost implications? I assume that would add on to the numbers that we see in front of us right now.

A. Boegman: We have an overall…. I mean, we’re in the process of negotiating the contract with Service B.C., and they provided us estimates. If there is a dedicated person, then likely those estimates will increase, but it’s within the flavour, within the envelope for the referendum.

R. Leonard: I hadn’t noticed — and it may be in there — that there was a dedicated 1-800 number that’s available to all British Columbians to call in.

A. Boegman: That’s correct.

R. Leonard: Okay.

The questions that I have are around enforcement and education. You have a new mandate of overseeing these external proponents and opponents.

[10:35 a.m.]

What is the breakdown in terms of what your expectations are on questions and complaints and enforcement around making sure that these external organizations and third parties are compliant?

Then the second question is around the education. I’ve already been talking to people and saying: “Well, you’re going to get some neutral information from Elections B.C.” I’m just wondering if you’re using plain-language experts in delivering the message to voters.

Those are two questions that I have.

A. Boegman: Sure. I’ll ask Jodi to respond to your question about the enforcement, as her provincial campaign finance team is the team that’s responsible and dedicated towards that process, along with monitoring the referendum spending and the advertising rules.

In terms of the public education component, yes, we do have plain-language experts. We also have engaged with some academics to make sure that the information is neutral and clear. We’re very focused on wanting to provide information that voters can understand and can help them make their decision.

Jodi?

J. Cooke: Thanks, Anton.

In response to your question about enforcement, specifically around the financing provisions, the regulation did establish monetary penalties and enforcement activities related to ensuring that public funds are used in an appropriate way. We also have, within the regulation, restrictions on what sources and where proponents and opponents and advertising sponsors can get their money.

As with any electoral event, these participants have to file disclosure statements with our office. Our team reviews those statements for compliance with the legislation. If anything looks like it’s not in compliance, we do have the authority, under the legislation, to conduct a further investigation to make sure that everything is above board.

As always, if there are any direct complaints, if anyone knows about anything happening outside in the world, they’re more than welcome to contact our office and forward that information as a formal complaint. We will take it under advisement and investigate as necessary. Does that…?

B. D’Eith (Chair): Sorry to just jump in. She had a little supplementary.

S. Cadieux: A follow-up on that related to the enforcement piece. I believe, if I understand it correctly, that advertising sponsors and proponent groups cannot collude, cannot work together. How is that going to be enforced?

The reason I ask that is because I would suggest that while well intentioned, there isn’t a lot of enforcement of the financial rules in general elections. From the perspective of…. I’ve reviewed other candidates’ expense disclosures, etc., where they are posted, where a candidate runs for an election and claims no expenses related to signage. There do not seem to be any repercussions for that sort of thing. It seems to be a: “We trust you to not do anything you’re not supposed to until somebody tells us you’ve done that and proves it to us.”

It’s not a criticism. I mean, I realize it would be incredibly difficult to be doing that. I’m wondering, then, how realistic it is to have an expectation that that is going to be overseen.

J. Cooke: To address your first point, there is a requirement under the regulation. You are correct. The proponent and opponent groups must be independent and act independently from registered referendum advertising sponsors. There are also requirements on what proponent and opponent groups can use their public funding for, as Anton mentioned. It’s restricted to referendum advertising and free public events. There are a number of items that they’re not allowed to use that funding for. That’s explicitly outlined in the regulation.

My team has been working diligently on trying to provide guidance to all the participants as quickly as we can. There are some aspects that we’re still exploring, and we’re hoping to provide more clarification later on in the referendum campaign period.

When we do receive these reports, one of the additional requirements…. Because of the public funding component and the sensitivity of where the funds can be used, the regulation did include a requirement that a separate bank account must be opened for public funding and to incur expenses out of that account. So we are able to more transparently itemize those expenditures and deposits if we need to conduct investigative proceedings because there has been some kind of non-compliance.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Ronna-Rae, did you have some more questions?

[10:40 a.m.]

R. Leonard: I think my question was related to finance too. Is there a dedicated budget line for enforcement, or is it just expected to come out of the temporary staff and benefits?

A. Boegman: We do have capacity within Elections B.C. We have a manager of investigations and an investigative team that is taking the lead on our enforcement activities. Jodi, within her team, has identified staff that are net new for this event that will be part of that overall compliance team as well.

T. Redies: Congratulations, Anton, on your appointment. I have a question around the — I think you’ve referred to it as “neutral and factual” — information that is going to be given to the public.

What’s the process for developing and approving that material? That’s my first question. Then my second question is that there are a lot of questions around the PR models, especially the two untested or experimental ones. Are you getting more information with respect to those two systems, what is being proposed? If so, where are you getting that information? What’s the source or sources?

A. Boegman: Thanks for the question. I can talk, certainly, on the process for developing and approving the information.

We’re in the process of developing it right now. We have engaged two experts to assist us with this. One is Dr. Ken Carty, who was the resource for the citizens’ assembly prior to the 2005 referendum. The other is Dr. Thérèse Arseneau, a Canadian who has been working recently in New Zealand but was part of the New Zealand public education program for their referenda on electoral reform. We’ve also engaged with plain-language experts through our advertising partner and are currently developing the information.

We do not have any additional information beyond what was published in the report of the Attorney General. There are a number of factors that we will put into the public information that simply say, “This will be determined by a legislative committee” or “This will be determined by an Electoral Boundaries Commission,” because there are factors that have not yet been determined, and there’s no additional information on that.

T. Redies: Okay. I just want to follow up. Is the government or the Attorney General’s office in any way involved in approving or reviewing the information that is going out by Elections B.C.?

A. Boegman: No, they’re not at all. The responsibility is Elections B.C.’s, and I’m the one who’ll be approving the information that goes out.

M. Dean: Thanks for all the work and the presentation and everybody being here today.

I’m interested in the mandate around the public education because it is a significant addition into running a referendum. What practices have informed your judgment about the methodology of how you’re going to roll out public education for this particular referendum?

A. Boegman: We have done a lot of follow-up with other electoral agencies that have had similar mandates, because as I mentioned, this is a new mandate for Elections B.C. Elections Ontario in 2017 had a mandate to provide public education. We’ve got some of their planning documentation. As well, I’ve spoken with the former Chief Electoral Officer on a number of occasions about his approach.

We’ve also spoken quite at length and received material from the New Zealand Electoral Commission in relation to the three referenda that they have had on electoral reform — the approach that they’ve used. They’ve shared documentation and their strategies quite liberally with us to help us better inform our process.

Then we’ve also taken lessons learned from our election advertising programs that we’ve done — what’s worked, what hasn’t worked — and that has formed the basis of our program.

[10:45 a.m.]

S. Cadieux: I just have a couple of questions relating to the mail-in ballot portion, having had a number of very negative experiences with Canada Post in the last little while of mail going missing, showing up months later or just never showing up at all.

You’ve budgeted for all of the ballots to go out to all the voters plus some through either replacements or new voters. Fair enough. I assume, then, that you’ve budgeted for pretty much the same in return, even though the turnout of a mail-in ballot is likely to be low. So there’s a big budget number there that I’m not sure I necessarily agree with, but fair enough, because ultimately we would know at the end, and there would be a reconciliation, I’m sure. But how does a voter have faith that they put their ballot in the mail and it arrives and it is counted?

A. Boegman: Well, we certainly have systems in place that if a voter wishes to find out “has my ballot package been received?” they can call us, and we will let them know that their package has been received.

S. Cadieux: If I, as a voter, mailed my ballot on, say, the 20th of November, and on the 30th, or whatever the cutoff date is, or the next day or whatever, I call and my ballot has not been received, what recourse do I have?

A. Boegman: The Chief Electoral Officer, under the regulation, has the ability to vary from the requirements that have been established in the regulation due to special or exceptional circumstances, and this is an order process. If you look back at the Chief Electoral Officer report on the 2017 provincial election, you’ll see that we made extensive use of that process to adapt to circumstances where, through error or an unforeseen issue, people’s ballots would not have been able to have been counted.

We do strongly focus on that, and if we’re able to find where that ballot is, we will then make sure that we can accept that for counting, if the voter put it into their system and there’s been a mistake by a service provider to make that ballot not be able to be returned.

We certainly will be communicating with voters that if they are concerned about the mail, they can drop them off directly at the Service B.C. offices or at the referendum service offices or here with Elections B.C. at our office. We also go to an extent to…. We’ll have an Elections B.C. manager at the main processing facility at Canada Post in Vancouver at the close of voting, and anything that has been returned to that processing facility, even though it hasn’t yet made its way to Victoria, we will accept at that point in time.

We have a number of steps in place, as well as the ability, in exceptional circumstances, through an order, to vary in order to allow us to accept ballots if they have not been able to be returned through no fault of the voter. It’s different if the voter puts a ballot in the mail the day before the close of voting and would expect it to get to us. In that case, they have an availability of dropping it off at Service B.C. or a referendum service office.

S. Cadieux: On the ballot somewhere, because it’s a mail-in ballot, will it indicate clearly that unless you postmark this by this date, it won’t be received by our office in time?

A. Boegman: It has to be received by our office in time, yes.

S. Cadieux: Will there be someplace on the ballot for the voter…? When they are filling it out and stuffing it in the envelope, will it somewhere say very clearly: “This must be postmarked by this date in order to assure that it is received by our office; otherwise, please deliver it by hand”? Otherwise, I believe people would understand that as long as they put it in the box by the date, they’re done. People are last-minute.

A. Boegman: It is clearly stated that the ballot has to be received by Elections B.C. prior to the close of voting, and the options will be part of the instructions that are provided to the voter in the voting package. Canada Post doesn’t do a postmark service, so there’s no ability for that.

S. Cadieux: Okay. Then can we say something to the effect of, “If you want your ballot to be counted, you’d better put it in the mail by November 15,” or something like that? People are going to assume that if they put that ballot in the box prior to the 30th of November, it will count. The received-by won’t…. I don’t believe, and I certainly don’t believe from a plain language perspective, that people would understand that.

A. Boegman: We can incorporate the Canada Post mailing standards into our communications for the regions.

S. Cadieux: That would be helpful.

[10:50 a.m.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): Can I just follow up on what Stephanie is saying before we move on to the next question.

Obviously, you have to pay for the postage to everyone out, but does the postage when it comes back…? Is that based on the numbers that are actually processed, then?

A. Boegman: Yes.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Are you assuming that you’re getting a 100 percent return rate? Or is it…?

A. Boegman: No.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Okay, so that’s already built in, that there’s a percentage return rate. I just wanted to clarify that.

Was there anything else? Stephanie, you’re good? Okay.

P. Milobar: Just on what Stephanie touched on, I just want to delve into it a bit further before I go to my other question. The problem I think you’re going to be faced with…. If I pay my federal taxes, as everyone does…. If you get it in by the close of business or midnight on the day that taxes are due, you’re not dinged penalties by the federal government or the provincial government. Your taxes are deemed to have been filed on time.

To reasonably think that people aren’t going to think the same thing with an election ballot that is designed to be convenient, by being a mail-in ballot…. To then say to them, “But if you want to, just bring it in, in person, as if you were doing an in-person vote anyways, by November 30,” it’s going to send a very mixed signal to people. I think there’s just going to be a genuine lack of understanding for people, because they’re so used to governmental documents being submitted by the close of business on the due date and that it counts.

To then turn around and tell them, “November 23 has to be your mail date,” even though November 30 is the election date…. It gets very confusing for people. Can you not see how that is going to create huge problems?

And there is no guarantee. Canada Post says it’s three to five business days for mailing. It’s business days; it’s not regular days and holidays. Then you have Remembrance Day in the middle, and everything else. Has it not been taken into account that people are going to be putting these things in the mail in the last week, thinking that it’s going to get there — and it’s not?

A. Boegman: That’s not our experience with the previous two vote-by-mail events that we’ve done, with the Metro Vancouver transportation and transit plebiscite and with the 2011 HST referendum. The vast majority of ballots that are returned are returned by the deadline and are able to be considered. A very, very small percentage do come in following the deadline, but our experience is that voters understand it, that they tend to get their ballots in early and that that’s not an issue for voters to understand.

P. Milobar: Is part of the strategy for communications that there be notifications sent out to people, or an advertising push, saying: “If you haven’t already received something in the mail, get hold of us now”? Is that a part of it?

A. Boegman: Exactly. That’s all part of our communications messaging.

P. Milobar: Okay. The last question I have. This is a completely independent, yet simultaneous, elections process that’s going to be running, procedurally, concurrently with a provincewide municipal campaign. With all your overview staff, the staff that will be checking on making sure that proponent and opponent groups are following the rules, that municipal elections are being done properly…. All of that’s going to be happening at the same time. Are there two totally different groups of people doing this? Or is it the same behind-the-scenes people doing oversight?

A. Boegman: We have two complete teams. We have a local election campaign finance team that’s responsible for the campaign financing enforcement on the LECFA side, and then we have Jodi’s team, which is the provincial team.

P. Milobar: So they are totally separate bodies?

A. Boegman: They’re completely separate teams — different resources, different focus.

J. Brar: I may be running behind here. Can you walk me through the balloting process? The ballots are mailed out, and it goes to a family of four. Then what happens after that, the identification under this process?

A. Boegman: Each registered voter at a residence will receive their individualized voting package, which will have within it the ballot. It’ll have a secrecy sleeve. It’ll have instructions on how to complete the ballot and return it to Elections B.C., as well as some neutral information on the systems that are the subject of the ballot.

[10:55 a.m.]

In the instructions, each individual will mark the ballot. They will then fold the ballot, put it in the secrecy sleeve and put it in the certification envelope. They will sign the certification envelope. They’ll put their date of birth on the certification envelope. They’ll put that certification envelope into the return envelope and then return it either via Canada Post or return it by dropping it off at another location — a Service B.C. location or a referendum service office.

J. Brar: The identification required is only the date of birth?

A. Boegman: That’s correct.

J. Brar: Okay. So one family member can actually fill all the forms — technically.

A. Boegman: Not legally. It’s possible, yes.

J. Brar: So the second person — to fill somebody’s ballot paper, they only need to know the date of birth.

A. Boegman: That’s correct. So we did a survey with B.C. Stats in 2011 as part of the HST referendum, and we determined that out of…. I think it was 99.7 percent of the voters who were contacted in the survey of a statistic sample across the province did complete their packages individually. There were, I believe, five people who were not able to confirm that they did that. They didn’t confirm that they didn’t do it, but there were, I think, language or cognitive issues with some of these people. But we believe that the system works and has worked previously and is an effective way.

J. Brar: I completely understand that you believe it and the system is working, but I’m just playing so-called devil’s advocate. I mean, date of birth is common knowledge for many people, right? You know the date of birth of a lot of people in your neighbourhood. For example, somebody can go collect the ballots even from the next-door neighbour, and if they know the next-door neighbour is away on vacation, they can still do it because they know the date of birth. That can happen. Not legally, but it can happen.

A. Boegman: It’s possible that it can happen. I do not believe that it happens at any level of regularity. We have seen…. Yes, there are people who will pick up a package that’s not theirs and will send it in. We regularly catch those and screen them. Typically, you know, you can see it’s the same signature that’s on the ballot, and they may know part of the date of birth but typically they don’t know the whole thing.

You’re right. It is possible. We believe it’s a very, very low potential.

J. Brar: Why don’t we have driver’s licence identification or SIN number — that kind of stuff instead of date of birth?

A. Boegman: Not every voter has a driver’s licence. SIN number — we don’t have a SIN number database to check that against. So this is a shared secret that we have that the voter has.

J. Brar: Okay. The second question I have to follow what Stephanie and Peter asked. If the number of ballots which come to you after the deadline and if this confusion is there, which has been described here…? If the number of ballots which came after the deadline is pretty close to the margin, if it’s very close, how do you describe that?

A. Boegman: We can only administer the referendum according to what’s written in the regulation and what’s in the legislation around that. We have to do that in a neutral and non-partisan manner. As I mentioned, if we are made aware that there are ballots that have not been received by the deadline through an error in a service provider, we will do our best to make sure that those ballots can be considered in the process.

In vote by mail, there’s time to do that because the counting takes place after the close of voting and all the ballots are received and have to still be processed. So it’s not like on election day, when the results are announced that night for the ballots that are in the ballot box. So we do everything that we can to try make sure that that does happen.

J. Brar: The last question I would like to ask. We’re spending significant money on the advertisement in this whole thing. I hope you’re considering the ethnic community. We have a sizeable South Asian community, a sizeable Chinese community and Filipino community, particularly. They have their own communication system…. And I hope that will be part of the process.

[11:00 a.m.]

A. Boegman: It will be. As I mentioned, we’re translating materials into 14 different languages. We have built in to our communications program use of some of the ethnic media in order to make sure that our information is accessible. We also have identified different community groups for an outreach program that would be similar to what we did during the provincial election.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Andrew, did you have any questions?

A. Weaver: I have no questions. It’s a pretty straightforward request — well documented, well articulated.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Okay. I was wondering. I’m just picking up on what Jagrup was saying. On the actual package that goes out, will there be an opportunity to put some written language indicators that could tell people: “Hey, if you don’t understand this, go to this site, or something”?

A. Boegman: Yes. There are lots of places for us to put both the instructions and also what to do if you need help. And there are contact centres available.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Fantastic.

Well, one last question. Ronna-Rae, last one.

R. Leonard: Quick question, since I have somebody in my constituency who uses Braille. You receive something in the mail. If you’re blind, you don’t necessarily know what it is. I’m assuming you’re not putting Braille on all of the ballots.

A. Boegman: No, we didn’t.

R. Leonard: So what’s your strategy around making sure that folks who…?

A. Boegman: We have a communications network for those individuals that do use Braille and are nearsighted. I’m trying to remember what the name is. Voice Blast is what it’s called. It’s a communication channel that we use specifically for them. That’s part of our communications program. We’ll be alerting those individuals that the packages are coming out and that we do have the Braille template for them, as well as a Braille ballot question.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Very short, Dan and then Peter.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Really quickly. Anton, on the amounts that are allotted to the pro and the con groups, $500,000 each. Then there’s advertising to each of those groups. It’s my understanding that in the pro group, there are various other organizations that are behind…. Make every vote count or…. What’s it called? The group you selected. Fair vote? Is fair vote the one that was selected?

A. Boegman: We selected the Make Every Voter Count Society.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Okay, so every vote. But it’s my understanding that there are groups that are incorporated with that. Are they allowed additional advertising money, also, in the split-up or not?

A. Boegman: Jodi, do you want to respond to this? I believe we’ve already come across this issue.

J. Cooke: Certainly. Thank you, Anton.

The Make Every Voter Count Society, which also goes by the name Vote PR B.C. — when they filed their application, they had to describe their structure as an organization. When we assessed the applications for validity and eligibility under the requirements of the regulation, one of the things we looked for was that they would not be part of a referendum advertising sponsor group.

While there are other groups that are on the same side as them regarding PR, when we register our referendum advertising sponsors, we are looking that they are independent of the proponent and the opponent groups. They don’t share the same directors. They’re not going to be conducting any advertising messages together. The proponent and the opponent groups are also not allowed to accept any money from registered advertising sponsor groups.

Referendum contributions must be made by eligible individuals who are residents of British Columbia and are limited to $1,200 in relation to the referendum.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): So the XYZ party, no names, that does not have common directorship or anything else also qualifies for advertising?

J. Cooke: If they are acting independently — they are not collaborating in designing their advertising strategies; they do not share the same director or leadership — they would be able to register as a referendum advertising sponsored group.

Where we see that the director, leadership, guidance struc­ture of the organizations are connected and that they’re making decisions in collaboration with one another, we want to ensure that no one is circumventing the expenditure limits that have been established by the regulation — the $200,000 cap. So we would not register them if we thought that they were part of the same group.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): Well, heads-up, because the ice is pretty thin between a lot of the groups. Pro and con — I’ll lay it on the table. But the ice is pretty thin. So heads-up, please, on that.

P. Milobar: I don’t know if you can delve into this too much. It’s come up quite a bit. If we have a ranked ballot on the second half, why wasn’t there just one ballot, one question, one ranked ballot with the first-past-the-post and the other three systems? Would that have not been a much simpler process for Elections B.C.?

A. Boegman: I mean, we will adapt our processes regardless of what ballot we’re given to deal with. That was a decision that was put into the regulation, so we just need to administer it.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Well, thank you very much, Anton and staff, for making such a detailed and thorough presentation. Really appreciate it.

I think we’ll take a short recess while you pack up, and then we’ll go in camera.

The committee recessed from 11:05 a.m. to 11:09 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): I’d like a motion to go in camera.

R. Leonard: So moved.

Motion approved.

The committee continued in camera from 11:09 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

Votes on Supplementary Funding

ELECTIONS B.C.

B. D’Eith (Chair): We are here, back, talking about the Elections B.C. supplementary funding request for the electoral reform referendum. There is a motion. Well, there are actually two. I’m wondering if someone would like to make that motion.

R. Leonard: I’ll move that the committee recommend:

[That Elections BC be granted access to supplementary funding up to $13,741,000 for operating expenditures in 2018/19 for the administration of the vote-by-mail provincial referendum on electoral reform.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): Any discussion?

All right, if we could have a vote. Okay, so that is a tie, 4-4.

I’d like to take a short recess, seeing that this is our first tie vote on the committee. If I could just take a short recess to consult with the Clerk’s office, just in terms of procedure in the event of a tie, I would appreciate that. If we could just have a short recess, five minutes.

The committee recessed from 11:12 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): I’d like to call the committee back to order. After I’ve consulted with the Clerk in regards to procedure, I’d like to first just reread the motion. The motion that Ronna-Rae Leonard made is that the committee recommend: “That Elections BC be granted access to supplementary funding up to $13,741,000 for operating expenditures in 2018/19 for the administration of the vote-by-mail provincial referendum on electoral reform.”

I’d like to recognize Dan Ashton, Deputy Chair.

D. Ashton (Deputy Chair): This is on division. I would ask that this be taken as a division vote.

B. D’Eith (Chair): Okay, Clerk.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Deputy Clerk and Clerk of Committees): If you could simply put the question, Mr. Chair, and then ask everyone to indicate if they’re voting yea or nay. Then I will announce the results of that.

B. D’Eith (Chair): I would like to put the motion to the committee. If you could please indicate individually as to whether or not you vote yea or nay.

K. Ryan-Lloyd (Clerk of Committees): Yes, or just raise your hand. Then I will announce it.

B. D’Eith (Chair): If you could raise your hand, then on the phone, we’ll go yea or nay.

B. D’Eith (Chair): All right. Customarily, the Chair of the committee does not vote unless there is a tie. In this case, I will vote with my conscience in regards to this matter.

In coming to a conclusion on this matter, I do note that there is already a statutory authority under section 11 of the Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Act that gives authority to Elections B.C. to go ahead with the funding of this referendum. The referendum is happening. It needs to be funded. Therefore, I am voting in favour of this motion.

Motion approved on division.

M. Dean: Can I make a second motion?

B. D’Eith (Chair): Sure.

M. Dean: I move:

[That the Chair advise the Minister of Finance, as Chair of Treasury Board, of the recommendation adopted earlier today and that the Committee’s recommendations be formally recorded and included in its report on its annual review of statutory office budgets in 2018.]

Motion approved.

Budget Consultation Planning

B. D’Eith (Chair): The next item on the agenda is the Budget 2019 consultation planning update, in camera.

I’d like have a motion to move in camera.

R. Leonard: So moved.

Motion approved.

The committee continued in camera from 11:18 a.m. to 11:34 a.m.

[B. D’Eith in the chair.]

B. D’Eith (Chair): We are back with the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services.

Any other business?

Can I have a motion to adjourn.

M. Dean: So moved.

Motion approved.

B. D’Eith (Chair): We are adjourned. Thank you very much, everyone.

The committee adjourned at 11:34 a.m.