Session Three Principles vs Practice Commonwealth Electoral Network Thursday, 23 June 12:00 – 13:00 Marc Mayrand Chief Electoral Officer Elections Canada

2 Canada’s Electoral System First-Past-The-Post System (single member plurality) –Candidate with most votes elected –Party that elects the most candiates wins; its leader becomes Prime Minister –Prime Minister chooses members of Cabinet –Party with second highest number of candidates elected forms the official opposition in Parliament Overview Independence of EMBs Managing the Power of Incumbency Impact of New Media on Elections Voter Registration

Independence of EMBs Commonwealth Principles Independence Impartiality Integrity Transparency Efficiency Service-oriented Responsible Communicative Canadian Experience Centralized approach to organizing election through permanent EMB Independent, non-partisan Chief Electoral Officer Accountable to Parliament through multiple public reporting activities Administrative and financial independence Code of values and ethics 3

Managing the Power of Incumbency Commonwealth Principles Political will Equal treatment Genuine competition Level playing field Transparency Accountability Non-corruption Canadian Experience Level-playing field: –Political financing regime –Separation of state resources from party resources –Fixed election date “Business” of elections is evolving 4

Impact of New Media on Elections Commonwealth Principles Engagement Informative Consultation Partnership Capacity Responsive Appropriate Use Accessibility Canadian Experience EMB & Social Media: –Information and facts, not opinion –Trusted and authoritative source of information Government Regulatory Framework for Mainstream Media: –Access to media –Media ownership Voluntary Standards: –Advertising standards –Journalistic standards 5

Voter Registration Commonwealth Principles Integrity Inclusiveness Comprehensiveness Accuracy Accessibility Transparency An informed public Feasibility Accountability Sustainability Canadian Experience Right to vote implies the right to register Integrity in Canadian context: –only qualified electors vote; that they vote only once and only for a candidate in the riding where they reside. Balance of integrity and accessibility Performance indicators –coverage, currency & accuracy 6

7 Questions Points of discussion: How are principles useful? What are some lessons learned/challenges from applying principles? What are some good practices identified? Is there such a thing as being too dogmatic when applying principles?