From: clamen+@CS.CMU.EDU (Stewart Clamen)
Subject: Re: Question(s) about Upcoming Election
Originator: clamen@BYRON.SP.CS.CMU.EDU
Reply-To: clamen+@CS.CMU.EDU
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
	<1993Jan12.014713.24381@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 16:03:00 GMT

In article <1993Jan12.014713.24381@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> golchowy@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Gerald Olchowy) writes:

   In article <pikedav.930111130957@lab5.duc.auburn.edu> pikedav@lab5.duc.auburn.edu (David Pike) writes:
   >
   >Sorry to get you all excited... this is NOT an annoucement that a Federal
   >Election has been called.  But, as we all know there is going to be one
   >before the year is through, I want to ask a question or two in preparation.
   >
   >In particular, this is my first year living outside of Canada.  When the
   >election is finally called...
   >
   >- will I be allowed to cast an absentee vote?
   >  (I wasn't in the Referendum :-(
   >
   >- if I'm allowed to vote, what must I do to ensure that will actually get
   >  to vote?  Will the Canadian Embassy contact me, or must I contact (or,
   >  heaven forbid, visit) them?
   >
   >Any comments from people who have gone through this before would be
   >much appreciated.
   >

   Non-residents of Canada, except I think for specific exceptions
   involving embassy and military personel, cannot vote.  I think
   there is some move afoot to change this, but it would be awfully
   strange to see more votes cast in California and Florida than
   in some provinces.

I think part of what has prevented national-level absentee voting from
being introduced earlier (I believe that there was a bill in pipeline
prior to the last election, but it died when Parliament was
dissolved), has to do with the fact that the votes are independent by
riding.  People vote for representative based on their place of
residence.  If a citizen does not reside in Canada, then what riding
do they vote in?  Also, there is a small time window for voting:
elections occur with only five weeks notice, and the list of
candidates is not fixed until a fortnight prior to Election Day.

Quebec has had absentee voting for 5-6 years now.  They used to allow
people to vote for ten years, but they recently (last spring) reduced
the time away to two years.  When I added myself to the absentee
roles, I was required to select a riding.  I naturally chose the
riding I grew up in, but I could have selected ANY riding in the
province.  Quebec spent some $40 to send me two packet by next-day
mail: the first contained my ballot (a set of envelopes of increasing
size), the second the list of candidates.  Because of postal delays, I
ended up voting BEFORE the list of candidates actually arrived.
Quebec did have some remote voting facilities set up at their various
delegations and Maisons du Quebec worldwide, but I am not convenient
to New York City.  Canada could do the same thing with their embassies
and consulates, I suppose.  (I seem to recall that New Zealand used
its embassies to poll the world-wide New Zealand voting populace last
election/referendum.) 


I certainly think that students should be to mail votes back to the
home riding, regardless of their present location.  Their permanent
residence (for undergraduates, anyway) is still their parents' home.
However, I am not sure that general ex-pats (like the 1 million
Canadians who live in California with Brad (Hi!)) should be allowed to
vote.

There a number of things that should be changed to make voting easier,
mostly relating to polling hours.  The polls should be open for the
entire TWO WEEKS prior to the election, so that people could vote at
their convenience.  (Currently, the polls are open for one or two
days, the week prior to Election Day, and then for only those that can
prove that will not be able to present themselves at the polling
station on Election Day.)  Additionally, this would start to serve to
improve the situation vis-a-vis the western provinces.





--
Stewart M. Clamen			Internet:    clamen@cs.cmu.edu
School of Computer Science		UUCP: 	     uunet!"clamen@cs.cmu.edu"
Carnegie Mellon University		Phone: 	     +1 412 268 2145
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