XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ab.politics   
   XPost: man.politics, sk.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: nb.general   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
     . . .  Than what was acceptable at the polling station before.   
      
   Know what will be required and be ready with it.   
   It would be great if those of you who give a damn about the voting   
   system in this country would help out an elderly or infirm person to   
   also get the right ID so that they are also able to cast a vote.   
   ___________________________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Mar 29, 2014   
      
   Do you have the right ID to cast a ballot in a federal election?   
   Bill C-23 would remove vouching as a method of proving a voter's   
   address. What else is there?   
      
      
   Pierre Poilievre, Minister of State for Democratic Reform says there are   
   39 forms of identification that let people prove their name and address   
   when they vote in a federal election, allowing them to end vouching as   
   an alternative. How easy is it to prove you are who you say you are when   
   you cast a ballot?	   
      
      
   Much of the debate over the government's proposed changes to Canadian   
   election laws has focused on its plan to eliminate vouching, a process   
   that lets those without proper identification have someone else in the   
   same polling division swear to their name and address.   
      
   Approved ID for federal votes   
      
        Driver's licence   
        Ontario health card   
        Provincial/territorial ID card in some provinces/territories   
        Canadian passport   
        Certificate of Canadian citizenship (citizenship card)   
        Birth certificate   
        Certificate of Indian status (status card)   
        Social insurance number card   
        Old age security card   
        Student ID card   
        Liquor ID card   
        Hospital/medical clinic card   
        Credit/debit card   
        Employee card   
        Public transportation card   
        Library card   
        Canadian Forces ID card   
        Veterans Affairs Canada health card   
        Canadian Blood Services/Héma-Québec card   
        CNIB ID card   
        Firearm possession and acquisition licence or possession only licence   
        Fishing, trapping or hunting licence   
        Outdoors or wildlife card/licence   
        Hospital bracelet worn by residents of long-term care facilities   
        Parolee ID card   
        Utility bill (telephone, TV, PUC, hydro, gas or water)   
        Bank/credit card statement   
        Vehicle ownership/insurance   
        Correspondence issued by a school, college or university   
        Statement of government benefits (employment insurance, old age   
   security, social assistance, disability support or child tax benefit)   
        Attestation of residence issued by the responsible authority of a   
   First Nations band or reserve   
        Government cheque or cheque stub   
        Pension plan statement of benefits, contributions or participation   
        Residential lease/mortgage statement   
        Income/property tax assessment notice   
        Insurance policy   
        Letter from a public curator, public guardian or public trustee   
        One of the following, issued by the responsible authority of a   
   shelter, soup kitchen, student/senior residence, or long-term care   
   facility: attestation of residence, letter of stay, admission form or   
   statement of benefits   
      
   A less-discussed change proposed in Bill C-23 would also roll back a   
   pilot program that allowed 400,000 people to use their voter information   
   card as proof of address in the 2011 election.   
      
   Those who work to promote democracy — the current and former heads of   
   Elections Canada, along with other experts — say removing those options   
   would essentially deny the vote to tens of thousands of people. Harry   
   Neufeld, who studied problems in the 2011 campaign, says 520,000 people   
   could lose their right to vote.   
      
   The Conservatives say there are 39 forms of ID that let people prove   
   their name and address when they vote in a federal election, arguing   
   that's enough to get rid of vouching and the use of the voter   
   information cards as proof of address.   
      
   But how easy is it to prove you are who you say you are when you cast a   
   ballot?   
      
   The experts who so far have appeared before the procedure and House   
   affairs committee have raised concerns about the list provided by   
   Elections Canada, and defended by Pierre Poilievre, minister of state   
   for democratic reform.   
      
   The biggest catch seems to be the need for voters to prove where they   
   live. Take away the driver's licence, and it gets complicated.   
      
   Here are three things to know about the way Bill C-23 would change how   
   Canadians could identify themselves to cast ballots in federal elections.   
      
      
   1. Few pieces of ID list address   
      
   Voters don't just prove their identity to cast a ballot: they have to   
   prove where they live too.   
   And while Elections Canada says 85 per cent of Canadians have a driver's   
   licence — based on the numbers they get from provincial licensing   
   offices — that penetration drops in urban areas like Vancouver, Toronto   
   and Montreal, where better public transit systems mean fewer people   
   require cars to get around.   
      
   One of the democracy experts appearing before the committee Thursday   
   made that point. Student Vote's Taylor Gunn, who lives in Toronto, told   
   the committee that he doesn't have a driver's licence.   
      
   "My health card, embarrassingly enough, is my only piece of official ID   
   and it doesn't have my address on it. My wife couldn't vouch for me   
   right now [under Bill C-23]," Gunn said.   
      
   Government issued ID like social insurance number cards and birth   
   certificates do not show an address. Canadian passports allow people to   
   write in their own address, so can't be used as proof of residence.   
      
      
   2. Originals required   
      
   No driver's licence? No problem. Poilievre told MPs in question period   
   Friday that photo ID and government-issued ID aren't required. His   
   critics, however, say it's not that easy.   
      
   The list of accepted identification includes "things like utility bills,   
   [Old Age Security] or Employment Insurance cheques, statement of   
   attestation from aboriginal reserve, Indian status card, a student card,   
   the list goes on and on. It's 39 different options. We just think it's   
   reasonable that people bring some form of ID when they show up to vote,"   
   Poilievre said.   
      
   The list also includes bank statements and insurance policies. Unless,   
   that is, the documents are delivered by email. A printed version of   
   emailed documents won't suffice. Instead, voters would have to go to the   
   bank or the hydro or insurance company — or dig through their paper   
   files at home — to find an original copy. And they'll have to know that   
   before they head to the polling station to cast a ballot on the advance   
   polling day or election day.   
      
      
   3. Other options   
      
   For those who don't have a driver's licence, they could present a lease   
   or have a letter of attestation from a shelter, soup kitchen, student or   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)