Press release No. 5 - By-elections of November 9 in Beauce-Sud, Fabre, René-Lévesque and Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne - Mobile polling in residential facilities and at the elector's domicile

QUEBEC CITY, Oct. 16, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Concerned with making the electoral process more accessible for persons with reduced mobility, the Chief Electoral Officer of Québec, would like to remind all electors from the electoral divisions of Beauce-Sud, Fabre, René-Lévesque and Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne that they can exercise their right to vote at their domicile or in a residential facility. It should however be noted that in the case of these alternative polling methods, an application must be forwarded by October 26 at the latest with the returning officer.

During the three by-elections held in 2015 in the electoral divisions of Richelieu, Chauveau and Jean-Talon, 320 persons took advantage of this possibility of exercising their right to vote through these alternative methods.

Furthermore, during the general elections of 2014, 379 electors voted at their domicile or in a residential facility in the four electoral divisions where there are currently a by-election. Overall, in these general elections, 19 636 electors exercised their right to vote through these polling methods in the Quebec's 125 electoral divisions.

Voting at an elector's domicile

An elector who is unable to move about for health reasons may vote at his or her domicile. A caregiver living at the same address as the elector is entitled to vote at the same time if he or she files an application to this effect. Only one caregiver is entitled to vote in this way.

The returning officer must receive the written application by October 26, 2015 at the latest. In it, the elector must certify that he or she is unable to move about for health reasons. A witness must sign this declaration. It is possible to register by using a form accessible in the special section of the Chief Electoral Officer's website.

The application from the elector unable to move may be transmitted by regular mail, email, fax, or an electronic process involving the reproduction of an electronic signature. If an elector is unable to sign the declaration, a spouse, a parent or a person cohabiting with the elector may sign instead. The caregiver of an elector who can vote at his domicile may submit a written application or do it by telephone.

Polling station personnel will visit electors on October 30 and 31 as well as on November 3, 4 and 5. The returning officer will let them know at what time the visit will take place.

Electors exercising their right to vote at their domicile, like all other electors, must be registered on the list of electors before they can vote. Electors who realize that they may be eligible to vote at their domicile and who are not registered on the list of electors may ask a board of revisers to come to their place of residence.

Mobile polling in a residential facility

Mobile polling is also available for electors who are unable to move about and who are lodged in a facility registered with the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux. In this case as well, electoral personnel will go to the facility where the electors reside so that they may exercise their right to vote.

Those wishing to avail themselves of this option simply have to ask the returning officer for permission to do so by telephone or in writing, by October 26, 2015 at the latest.

The returning officer will inform the elector about the day and time when the mobile poll is to arrive at the elector's room or apartment.

As is the case for voting at the elector's domicile, the Chief Electoral Officer offers electors unable to move about the option of registering on or making corrections to the list of electors.

How to get in touch with the returning officer

Electoral division	Returning officer	Phone number	Address
Beauce-Sud	Serge Roy	418 230-9628	15655, Lacroix blvd in Saint-Georges, G5Y 1S1
Fabre	Marielle Gravel	514 232-0902	4767, West Dagenais blvd in Laval, H7R 1L7
René-Lévesque	Claudette Bergeron	418 293-7416       1 855 418-9383	625, Laflèche blvd in Baie-Comeau, bureau 401, G5C 1C5     40, 1^st Avenue in Forestville, G0T 1E0
Saint-Henri– Sainte-Anne	Catherine Chauvin	514 233-1299	1751, Richardson st. bureau 3.529 in Montréal, H3K 1G6

Exercising one's right to vote for sustaining our democracy

Current by-elections are an occasion to sustain our democracy by exercising one's right to vote. More than 190 thousand electors are invited to vote in those four by-elections. Several voting methods are offered in order to facilitate this exercise and allow them to play their citizenship role and to have an input in the choice of their representatives in the National Assembly.

For more information

For more information concerning how to exercise of one's right to vote, please feel free to consult the section entitled "I'm voting – by-election" on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer.

All this information is also available from the Information Centre of the Chief Electoral Officer, during the week from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The electors can also contact the Information Center over the weekend of Saturday October 31 (from noon until 5:00 pm) and Sunday November 1 (from 8:30 am until 8:30 pm), and on the weekend of November 7 and 8 (from noon until 5:00 pm).These extended hours are in force for the duration of the electoral period. All requests for documents may be sent to the Information Centre as well.

SOURCE Directeur général des élections

Denis Dion, Information Officer, 418-644-3320 or 1-888-870-3320, [email protected]