Voting by Mail in Local Government Election

Please be advised that the deadline to submit your application to vote by mail in the 2011 Bowen Island Municipality Local Government Elections and National Park Community Opinion Vote is 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2011.

Bowen Island Municipality has adopted a bylaw to permit qualified persons to vote in the 2011 municipal election by way of a mail ballot. 

Who Can Vote By Mail
Voting by mail is available to persons in the following circumstances only:

• If you have a physical disability, illness or injury that affects your ability to vote;
• If you expect to be away from the municipality on general voting day (November 19, 2011) and on the advance voting day (November 9, 2011).

To Request a Mail Ballot Package
To request a mail ballot package you must submit a completed Application to Vote by Mail to the Administration Department of Bowen Island Municipality at 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC, V0N 1G0.  Applications can be obtained by contacting the Administration Department at the above address, or by calling (604) 947-4255, or by downloading and printing out the Application to Vote by Mail. 

Applications may be submitted:

• in person; or
• by mail to the above-noted address; or
• by fax:  (604) 947-0193; or
• (scanned and) emailed to bim@bimbc.ca

Upon receipt of a complete application, your name will be added to the mailing list for mail ballot packages.  A mail ballot package will be mailed to you as soon as possible after November 1, 2011 (as soon as the ballots become available).

Eligibility to Vote
To vote by mail, a person must meet all voting requirements for voting in a municipal election as a resident elector or as a non-resident property elector as of the date the mail ballot is completed and posted.

ELECTOR QUALIFICATIONS

Resident Electors:

• are a Canadian citizen;
• are 18 years of age or more on general voting day;
• have lived in British Columbia for at least 6 months before you register to vote;
• have lived in Bowen Island Municipality for 30 days or more before you register to vote; and
• are not otherwise disqualified from voting in an election.

Non-Resident Property Electors:

• are a Canadian citizen;
• are 18 years of age or more on general voting day;
• have lived in British Columbia for at least 6 months before you register to vote;
• a registered owner of real property in Bowen Island Municipality for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration;
• not entitled to register as a resident elector;
• the only persons who are registered owners of the real property, either as joint tenants or tenants in common are individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust;
• are not otherwise disqualified from voting in an election.
• if there is more than one registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may, with the written consent of the majority of the owners, register as a non-resident property elector; and
• a person may only register as a non-resident property elector in relation to one parcel of real property in a jurisdiction.
  
• NOTE:  No corporation is entitled to be registered as an elector or have a representative registered as an elector and no corporation is entitled to vote.

List of Registered Electors (Voter’s List)

You must:

• be on the List of Registered Electors in order to vote by mail; or
• apply to register to vote in conjunction with submission of the mail ballot, in which case you must complete the necessary registration application that is part of the mail ballot package.

Important Deadline
As provided in the Local Government Act, a mail ballot must be received by the Chief Election Officer before the close of voting on general voting day (Saturday, November 19, 2011) in order to be counted for the election. It is your responsibility to post the ballot in sufficient time for delivery to the Administration Department of Bowen Island Municipality at 981 Artisan Lane, Bowen Island, BC, V0N 1G0 by the close of business at 4:30 pm on Friday, November 18, 2011

OR

Arrange for the ballot to be hand delivered to the Chief Election Officer or the Deputy Chief Election Officer at Bowen Island Community School, 1041 Mt. Gardner Road, Bowen Island, BC between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 19, 2011.

Further Information
For further information about mail ballot voting or about registering as a voter, or qualifications for voting, please contact the Chief Election Officer, Kathy Lalonde, or the Deputy Chief Election Officer, Lisa Wrinch at (604) 947-4255 or visit our website at www.bimbc.ca.