HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 Section 37 of the Election Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 106, is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "the 8th day after an election" and substituting "the day after an election", and

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) As soon as possible after an election is called, the chief electoral officer must have published in accordance with section 270 a notice stating that after the day the election is called an individual may only register or update voter registration information in conjunction with voting.

2 Section 41.1 (2) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) both the identity and place of residence of the applicant are confirmed in accordance with subsection (3) of this section by one of the following who has produced documents referred to in section 41 (3):

(i) a voter registered in the applicant's electoral district of residence;

(ii) a spouse, parent, grandparent, adult child, adult grandchild or adult sibling of the applicant;

(iii) a person having authority under the common law or an enactment to make personal care decisions in respect of the applicant.

3 Section 47 is repealed and the following substituted:

Preparation of list of voters for use in election

47  (1) For each election for an electoral district, the chief electoral officer must have prepared a list of voters for the electoral district.

(2) Only a list of voters prepared under subsection (1) may be used for the purposes of conducting an election.

(3) The list of voters for an electoral district must

(a) be prepared as soon as possible after the election is called,

(b) include the names and residential addresses of those individuals who, on the basis of the Provincial list of voters, appear to be resident in the electoral district,

(c) include the assigned voter number for each individual on the list of voters,

(d) be divided by voting area for the election and organized alphabetically by voter surname within each voting area, and

(e) be certified by the chief electoral officer as being the list of voters for use in the election.

(4) Other than the requirements of subsection (3), the form of a list of voters for an election is in the discretion of the chief electoral officer.

(5) The chief electoral officer must have a copy of the list of voters provided to

(a) the district registrar of voters, and

(b) the district electoral officer of the electoral district.

4 Section 48 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "Candidates in an election are entitled without charge to copies of the lists of voters" and substituting "Each candidate in an election for an electoral district is entitled without charge to a copy of the list of voters",

(b) in subsection (1) (a) by striking out "one electronic copy of both the preliminary and revised lists of voters prepared under section 47" and substituting "an electronic copy of the list of voters",

(c) in subsection (1) (b) by striking out "one printed copy of each of the preliminary list of voters and the revised list of voters" and substituting "a printed copy of the list of voters", and

(d) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) A copy of the list of voters prepared under section 47 must be available for public inspection in the following offices during their regular office hours, from the time the list is received until the close of general voting:

(a) the office of the district registrar of voters;

(b) the office of the district electoral officer of the electoral district.

5 Section 50 (3) is amended by striking out "the revised list of voters" in both places and substituting "the list of voters".

6 Section 51 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "Subject to section 275, the chief electoral officer" and substituting "The chief electoral officer", and

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), on On request and on payment of the reasonable costs of reproduction, the chief electoral officer must provide the following:

(a) to a registered political party or member of the Legislative Assembly, a list of voters;

(b) to a registered political party,

(i) in respect of athe most recent general election for which the last writ of election was returned, a list of voters that indicates which voters on the list voted in the generalthat election, and

(ii) in respect of a by-election that takes place between the date of the most recent general election and the date the next general election is called, a list of voters that indicates which voters on the list voted in that by-election;

(c) to a registered political party, in respect of a by-election that takes place between the date the writ referred to in paragraph (b) was returned and the date the next general election is called, a list of voters that indicates which voters on the list voted in the by-election.

(c) to a candidate or an individual who was a candidate in an election referred to in subparagraph (i) or a by-election referred to in subparagraph (ii),

(i) in respect of the most recent general election, a list of voters in the electoral district for which the individual is a candidate or was a candidate that indicates which voters on the list voted in that election, and

(ii) in respect of a by-election that takes place between the date of the most recent general election and the date the next general election is called, a list of voters in the electoral district for which the individual is a candidate or was a candidate that indicates which voters on the list voted in that by-election.

7 Section 56 (1) is amended

(a) in paragraph (a) by striking out "10th day" and substituting "7th day", and

(b) in paragraph (b) by striking out "6th day" and substituting "3rd day" and by striking out "10th day" and substituting "7th day".

8 Section 76 (1) is repealed and the following substituted:

(1) Advance voting opportunities must be held on the following days:

(a) Saturday and Sunday of the week immediately preceding the week before general voting day for an election;

(b) Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the week before general voting day for an election.

9 Section 96 is amended

(a) in subsection (3) (b) (ii) by striking out "sequentially", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(5) On request, an election official must provide to a candidate representative, without charge and in the manner and at the times directed by the chief electoral officer, a copy of the list prepared under subsection (3) (b) (ii).

10 Section 97 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(7) On request, after the end of each advance voting opportunity, the district electoral officer must provide to a candidate, without charge and in the manner and at the times directed by the chief electoral officer, the following information in relation to each voter who voted at the advance voting opportunity:

(a) the voter number unless paragraph (b) applies;

(b) if the voter registered or updated his or her voter registration information in conjunction with voting at the advance voting opportunity, the information that the chief electoral officer considers appropriate.

11 Section 183 (1) is amended by striking out "within the period beginning 60 days before a campaign period and ending at the end of the campaign period" and substituting "during a campaign period".

12 Section 198 is amended

(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following:

(1) In respect of a general election, the total value of election expenses incurred by a registered political party during the campaign period must not exceed $4.4 million. , and

(b) in subsection (4) by striking out "under subsection (1), (2) or (3)" and substituting "under subsection (1) or (3)".

13 Section 199 is amended

(a) by repealing subsections (1) and (2) and substituting the following:

(1) In respect of an election, the total value of election expenses incurred by a candidate during the campaign period must not exceed $70 000. , and

(b) in subsection (3) by striking out "under subsection (1) or (2)" and substituting "under subsection (1)".

14 Section 200 (1) (b) is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) the election expense must be incurred during the campaign period.

15 Section 203 (1) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(h.1) the cost of any communication, other than a communication in relation to a fundraising function, transmitted to the public by any means for the primary purpose of raising funds for the organization or individual by whom or on whose behalf the communication was transmitted; .

16 Section 204 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by striking out "conducted in accordance with section 23 (2) of the Constitution Act" and by striking out ", 60 days before the campaign period," and substituting "as soon as possible after the election is called",

(b) in subsection (2) (a) by striking out "60 days before the campaign period," and substituting "at the time the election is called,",

(c) in subsection (2.1) by striking out "general election conducted other than in accordance with section 23 (2) of the Constitution Act and each" and by striking out "before the end of the nomination period" and substituting "as soon as possible after the election is called", and

(d) in subsection (2.1) (b) by striking out "sections 198 (2) to (4) and 199 (2) and (3)." and substituting "sections 198 (3) and (4) and 199 (1) and (3)."

17 Section 211 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "Within 90 days" and substituting "Subject to subsection (6), within 90 days", and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(6) The financial agent of a leadership contestant who is acclaimed is not required to file a report under this section if all the following apply:

(a) no contestant expenses were incurred by or on behalf of the leadership contestant;

(b) no political contributions were received or accepted by the leadership contestant in relation to that individual's seeking of the leadership;

(c) no loans or guarantees were received by the leadership contestant for contestant expenses;

(d) no fundraising functions were held by or on behalf of the leadership contestant;

(e) no transfers of money or other property were made or received by, or services provided by or to, the leadership contestant under section 180 (6).

18 Section 228 is amended in the definition of "election advertising" by striking out "during the period beginning 60 days before a campaign period and ending at the end of the campaign period," and substituting "during the campaign period,".

19 Section 233 (3) is amended by adding the following paragraph:

(d) a message that was transmitted to the public on the internet for the sole purpose of encouraging voters to vote in the election.

20 Section 235.1 is repealed and the following substituted:

Third party advertising limits

235.1  (1) In respect of a general election, an individual or organization other than a candidate, registered political party or registered constituency association must not sponsor, directly or indirectly, election advertising during the campaign period

(a) such that the total value of that election advertising is greater than

(i) $3 000 in relation to a single electoral district, and

(ii) $150 000 overall, or

(b) in combination with one or more individuals or organizations, or both, such that the total value of that election advertising is greater than

(i) $3 000 in relation to a single electoral district, and

(ii) $150 000 overall.

(2) In respect of a by-election, an individual or organization other than a candidate, registered political party or registered constituency association must not sponsor, directly or indirectly, election advertising during the campaign period

(a) such that the total value of that election advertising is greater than $3 000, or

(b) in combination with one or more individuals or organizations, or both, such that the total value of that election advertising is greater than $3 000.

(3) Section 204 applies to adjust the amounts under this section.

21 Section 244 (1) is amended by striking out "or the period beginning 60 days before the campaign period".

21.1 Section 275 is amended

(a) in subsection (3) by striking out "within the meaning of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act",

(b) by adding the following subsections:

(3.2) Despite subsection (3) of this section, personal information contained in the lists referred to in sections 51 (2) (b) and (c), 96 (5) and 97 (7) may only be used for the purposes of this Act.

(3.3) For certainty, personal information contained in a record referred to in this section must not be used for commercial purposes. ,

(c) in subsection (4) by striking out "subsection (3)" and substituting "this section",

(d) in subsection (4) (a) by striking out "that subsection," and substituting "this section,", and

(e) by adding the following subsections:

(4.1) Subject to subsection (4.2) of this section,

(a) in the case of a registered political party that wishes to obtain a list referred to in section 51 (2) (a) or (b), the director, principal officer or principal member of the registered political party on whose behalf the list is requested must file with the chief electoral officer a privacy policy acceptable to the chief electoral officer,

(b) in the case of a candidate representative who wishes to obtain a copy of a list referred to in section 96 (5), the candidate or the official agent of the candidate on whose behalf the list is requested must file with the chief electoral officer a privacy policy acceptable to the chief electoral officer, and

(c) in all other cases, an individual who wishes to obtain a copy of a record referred to in this section must file with the chief electoral officer a privacy policy acceptable to the chief electoral officer.

(4.2) If a privacy policy has been previously filed under subsection (4.1), the chief electoral officer may waive a requirement under that subsection.

(4.3) In this section:

"personal information" means personal information within the meaning of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;

"privacy policy" means a policy that sets out reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal in respect of personal information contained in a record referred to in this section.

Consequential Amendment

Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2012

22 Sections 80 to 86 of the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 2), 2012, S.B.C. 2012, c. 18, are repealed.

Commencement

23  This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.