An Elections Canada pilot project is set to open at least 39 offices at Canadian universities in an effort to make voting more accessible for students in the upcoming federal election.
In the face of changes from the Fair Elections Act, the project will try to clarify how students can vote in the riding in which they choose to register their residence in.
The Fair Elections Act now requires voters to bring identification that proves name as well as address. Student voters need to choose one location to vote, according to the Elections Canada website.
According to Diane Benson, a spokesperson for Elections Canada, Carleton is still in the process of signing leases with Elections Canada in order to confirm a space for an office. The University of Ottawa already has an office confirmed.
The University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph are among other schools who will have an office.
Offices at participating Canadian universities would offer all of the regular services of a returning office, but would only be open from Oct. 5-8.
The offices are intended for students but “would serve anyone else,” Benson said.
Maddie Adams, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) vice-president (student issues) said, “We probably have an 85 per cent chance of getting a voting station.”
The university and Elections Canada are looking to put stations in the atrium and in the main athletics building, Adams said.
Joohun Lee, a third-year Carleton engineering student, said he has had trouble voting in the past.
“I’ve never been able to vote because I’ve never been home when the elections happen,” Lee said. “I’ve never been told what I could do instead.”
According to the Elections Canada website, students can vote in their registered home riding on campus if they bring a piece of identification proving their name via a special ballot.
“You can use a library card, a hunter’s license, a boating license, a debit card—anything,” Adams said.
If a student wants to vote in the riding in which they live in during school, they must bring proof of residency, like a utility bill.
If students don’t have a piece of identification with proof of their address, they can have another elector “vouch” for them by swearing an oath that the student lives where they declare, Benson explained. However, Benson said recent changes now require students to have a piece of identification with proof of their name.
Benson said that students who live on residence can ask for a letter with proof of residence from a residence administrator.
The goal is to see if there is enough interest on campus, Benson said. And if the pilot program goes well, Elections Canada plans on extending the program, she said.
“Students live busy lives, and they’re racing around doing stuff so they may need information because they’re unsure how to proceed,” she said.
Adams said this is the first federal election many students are allowed to vote in, and CUSA aims to make all of the information easily accessible closer to the election.
Benson said Elections Canada wants to encourage youth voting. In the 2011 election, only 38.8 per cent of Canadians aged 18-24 voted, compared to the national average of 61.1 per cent.
