3004

A non-partisan Office of the Legislature (19/03)

Election Official Quick Reference Guide

Information Officer

CONTENTS

BEFORE VOTING STARTS

AFTER VOTING STARTS

AFTER VOTING CLOSES

RESOURCES
Contents

CONTENTS
Before voting starts 1

After voting starts 2

Greeting voters 2
Directing voters 3
Advance voting 3
General voting 4
Finding the voter’s electoral district,
voting area, and assigned voting place 4
Voter ID 6
Priority access for paramedics, police officers
and firefighters 6

Helping voters with special needs 7

Tools to help visually impaired voters 8

Helping at the voting place 9

Special circumstances 9

Label Printers 10
Loading labels 10
Troubleshooting 10
After voting closes 12
Closing the doors 12
Packing up 13
Where to Vote card reference 14

Resources 14
Contacts 15

Notes 16
 BEFORE VOTING STARTS
Before voting starts

Place exterior and interior signs so voters can

easily find the voting place. Your Supervisory
Voting Officer will establish suitable
locations.

Walk around the interior and exterior of your

voting place to ensure there is no election
advertising posted, displayed or distributed
in the building or within 100 metres of
the building when voting is being
conducted. Repeat throughout the
day.

Open the doors to the voting place

at 8 a.m.

1
After voting starts
Greeting voters
Greet voters in a friendly manner when they arrive.

• Do not discuss politics

• Make sure they don’t have visible campaign
materials with them, such as buttons or T-shirts
promoting a candidate or party. If they do, ask
them to cover the materials or return without
them.
Note: Candidates or campaign workers who drive
voters to the voting place may not be in the voting
place unless they themselves are voting.

In a Single By-election
If voter does not reside in a district in which a by-
election is being held, they are not eligible to vote.

2
 AFTER VOTING STARTS
Directing voters
Advance voting
Directing voters at advance voting is very
straightforward. All eligible voters go to the
next available voting station.

1. Ask the voter:

• Do you have ID?
• Do you have a current and accurate
Where to Vote card?
• If they don’t have a Where to Vote
card, confirm their eligibility:
• Canadian citizen
• 18 years old by General Voting
Day (GVD)
• Resident of B.C. for six months
by GVD.
• Non-eligible voters cannot vote.
2. D
 irect the voter to the next available
voting station.

3
General voting
Directing voters at general voting requires you to
know their electoral district (ED) and voting area
(VA).

Finding the voter’s electoral district, voting area, and

assigned voting place

If the voter has a current and accurate Where to Vote

card, their electoral district, voting area and assigned
voting place are shown on their card. If the voter does
not have a current and accurate Where to Vote card, use
the Location Index (846) or the electoral district voting
area (EDVA) map to find their electoral district, and the
electoral district street index (EDSI) to find their voting
area.

The street index shows the addresses in your electoral

district and the voting area (VA) they are in. The
Location Index lists all of the communities in B.C. and the
electoral district they are in. It also has a map of all of the
electoral districts in B.C. If you are having trouble, ask
the voter to point to where they live on the map.

4
 AFTER VOTING STARTS
1. Ask the voter:
• Do you have ID?
• Do you have a current and accurate
Where to Vote card?
• If they don’t have a Where to Vote
card, confirm their eligibility:
• Canadian citizen
• 18 years old by General Voting
Day (GVD)
• Resident of B.C. for six months
by GVD.
• Non-eligible voters cannot vote.
• Are you assigned to this voting
place?
2. I f the voter is assigned to your voting
place (i.e. their VA is assigned to your
voting place), direct them to their
assigned voting station.
3. I f the voter is not assigned to your voting
place, direct them to the absentee voting
station.
If a voter in your electoral district asks if they
are at their assigned voting place, use the
Voting Place Information Report to look up
their VA.

5
Voter ID
All voters must prove their identity and residential
address before voting.

See the You Need Identification (367) poster for

what pieces of ID or documents voters can show as
acceptable ID and who can be a voucher.

If a voter does not have acceptable ID or someone

who can vouch for them, ask them to return with
acceptable ID or a voucher.

Priority access for paramedics,

police officers and firefighters
If essential services personnel arrive at the voting
place while on duty, move them as close to the front
of the line as possible.

6
 AFTER VOTING STARTS
Helping voters with
special needs
You do not need to be an expert on how to
help everyone. Voters know their needs best.

• Ask “How can I help you?”

• Listen carefully
• Act

Speak to the voter, not their attendant.

Do not touch assisting devices or service

dogs without permission. Service dogs are
the only animals allowed in the voting place.

You must inform the supervisory voting

officer when you are helping a voter with
special needs.

If a voter is unable to enter the voting place,

offer voting outside the building, such as
in the parking lot or at the curb. Alert the
Supervisory Voting Officer about a “curbside”
voter.

Note: Individuals with power of attorney

and “committees” cannot vote on behalf of
another individual in their absence. Proxy
voting is not permitted.
7
Tools to help visually impaired
voters

Plastic ballot template

Braille List of Candidates

BOLTON
Andy Bolton

Poster-sized Registered Political Party

CHAN
sample ballot Bill Chan
Registered Political Party

JOHAL
Lis Johal

LAW
Gary Law
Independent

8
 AFTER VOTING STARTS
Helping at the voting
place
Throughout the day, make sure that:

• Cords are taped down in straight lines

• Extra materials are packed and stored
out of the way
• Signs are adjusted, fixed or replaced as
needed

Special circumstances
Contact the Supervisory Voting Officer when:

• candidates or media are present

• a voter requests curbside voting
• you are unsure if a voter’s ID is
acceptable
• parties or candidates are not complying
with the 100-metre rule
• anyone requests to speak with the
District Electoral Officer
• anyone has a complaint
9
Label Printers
Loading labels
Carefully follow the instructions on the inside of the
label printer to avoid printer jams.

• Put the labels in the printer with the DYMO logo

facing up
• Line up the labels in the correct track
• Note that labels are offset from the centre of the
printer

Troubleshooting
Problem Solution
Flashing A flashing blue light or
blue humming noise means that
light or the labels aren’t inserted
humming properly.
noise Make sure the labels are
completely fed into the slot
at the front of the printer.

10
 AFTER VOTING STARTS
Problem Solution
No blue No blue light means that
light the label printer doesn’t
have any power. Make sure
that:
• the printer is plugged
into the power bar
• the power bar is
plugged into the wall
• the power bar switch
is on (if it has a switch)
• the wall outlet has
power

Printer jam 1. Swap with the spare

label printer
2. Redirect voters to other
stations, if available
3. Try to fix the jam
4. If the jam cannot
be fixed, ask the
Supervisory Voting
Officer to request a
replacement printer
from the District
Electoral Officer.

11
After voting closes
Closing the doors
Close the voting place at 8 p.m.

If there are voters waiting to vote, the

Supervisory Voting Officer will identify the
end of the line and let the people in line enter the
voting place and vote.

Anyone who arrives after voting closes cannot vote –

no exceptions.

12
 AFTER VOTING CLOSES
Packing up
Pack up your supplies into the Information
Officer Supply Envelope (3034C) for return to
the district electoral office.

Do not put election material in the

garbage or recycling.

13
14
Where to Vote card reference

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A non-partisan Office of the Legislature forward faire suivre
PO BOX 9275 STN PROV GOVT, VICTORIA, BC V8W 9J6
Customer N˚ du
*BND043-0201A* no. client 7163762
*BND043-0201A*

general voting day

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Deliver to:
On Saturday, August 5, you can vote at:
Resources

DYCK, BENOIT
Maywood Elem School 205 - 6508 TELFORD AVE
4567 Imperial St, Burnaby BURNABY BC V5H 2Z2
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Your address is: Remember to bring this card and ID. Voting will
205 - 6508 Telford Ave, Burnaby BC be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Pacific time).

Advance voting places are wheelchair

L DATES OPEN
accessible and open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed
ADVANCE VOTING (local time) on the dates checked. Jul 28 Jul 29 Jul 30 Jul 31 Aug 1 Aug 2
Deer Lake United Church, 5135 Sperling Ave, Burnaby, BC
P      
Legion 83 - Poppy Residences, 5291 Grimmer St, Burnaby, BC      
South Burnaby Lawn Bowls Club, 4000 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC      
M
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ELECTORAL DISTRICT: Burnaby-Deer Lake | ELECTORAL DISTRICT CODE: BND | VOTING AREA: 043
S
Colour bands on the Where to Vote card identify the voter’s electoral district.
Contacts
Name Phone

Technical Officer

Supervisory
Voting Officer

District electoral office

District Electoral Officer

Deputy District
Electoral Officer

15
RESOURCES
Notes
A non-partisan Office of the Legislature