City of Cornwall, February, 2017

City of Cornwall, February, 2017
Ranked Ballots City of Cornwall, February, 2017

Ministry of Municipal Affairs
Disclaimer This presentation provides general information in plain language about the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 and O.Reg. 310/16. This presentation should not be considered legal advice and is not meant to replace provincial legislation. For more specific information, please refer to the relevant legislation and regulations which can be found online at As local facts and circumstances are variable, users should obtain their own legal and professional advice when specific issues arise. December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

General Requirements Municipalities have been provided with the option of using ranked ballots starting in the 2018 municipal election. Ranked ballots must be used for all offices on council Consultation requirements: Open house Public meeting Deadline to pass by-law is May 1 in the year before the year of the election Upper tier can authorize only if all constituent lower tiers are using (deadline is July 1, 2017) December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Considerations by Council
December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Considerations by Council
When deciding whether to pass a by-law, council must consider the following: The costs to the municipality of conducting the elections The availability of technology (voting and vote-counting equipment) The impact the proposed by-law would have on election administration Deadline to pass alternative voting and equipment by-laws is May 1 (same as ranked ballot by-law deadline) in the year before the election December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Consultation December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Public Education The following information must be provided to the public: detailed description of how the elections would be conducted, including a description of how votes would be distributed to candidates based on the rankings marked on ballots estimate of the costs of conducting the elections description of the voting equipment and vote-counting equipment that is being considered description of any alternative voting method being considered December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

When does Consultation Occur?
Notice of the open house must be published in a newspaper at least 30 days in advance Notice of the public meeting must be published in a newspaper at least 30 days in advance Open house must be held at least 15 days before the public meeting Municipalities have the discretion to include other consultation methods, including a question on the ballot, but are still required to hold an open house and public meeting. December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

After the By-law is Passed

Key Dates Deadline for clerk to establish procedures for the use of alternative voting and equipment is December 31 in the year before the election. Copy of the procedures must be provided to candidates when they file their nomination form Nomination day moved to fourth Friday in July – contents of ballot can be set by early August Clerk sets dates for advance voting (cannot begin more than 30 days before voting day) December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Rankings December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Maximum Number of Rankings
By-law may specify the maximum number of rankings Number of rankings may be different for different offices If no maximum specified, the default maximum is three Electors do not have to rank the maximum number December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Interpreting Rankings
Rankings are considered in order of preference indicated If the same candidate is given more than one ranking, only the highest of those rankings is considered If a voter skips a ranking, the next highest preference is considered If a voter gives two candidates the highest ranking, the ballot is rejected. If the voter indicates a highest preference, and gives two candidates a subsequent preference (e.g. puts two candidates second) the ballot is counted in the first round but becomes exhausted if transferred December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Key Terms Rejected Ballot Any ballot that is damaged, contains identifying marks, the rankings are marked outside the appropriate space, etc. Any ballot where the voter’s highest preference cannot be determined in the first round (ballot is blank, voter has assigned their highest preference to more than one candidate) Rejected ballots are not included in the calculation of the threshold December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Key Terms Exhausted Ballot Any ballot where the voter’s next preference cannot be determined (second round or later) because the voter has not ranked a next preference because the voter has assigned the next preference to more than one candidate because none of the remaining preferences are for continuing candidates because the ballot has already gone through the maximum number of rankings A ballot that becomes exhausted is included in the calculations related to the transfer of a candidate’s surplus votes December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Vote Counting December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Vote Counting – Establishing the Threshold
The first step in vote counting for both single and multi-member is establishing the threshold for the office. Formula: [valid ballots cast / (seats +1)] +1 Ballots cast does not include declined or rejected ballots The threshold is only calculated once – it does not change for subsequent rounds December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Examples of Calculating the Threshold
Formula: [ballots cast / (seats +1)] voters electing 1 candidate: [1000/(1+1)] +1 = 501 votes needed to win 1000 voters electing 2 candidates: [1000/(2+1)] +1 = 334 votes needed to win 1000 voters electing 3 candidates: [1000/(3+1)] +1 = 251 votes needed to win 500 voters electing 4 candidates: [500/(4+1)] +1 = 101 votes needed to win December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Vote Counting and Timing
If ballots are being counted for offices elected using traditional voting and offices elected using ranked ballots, the traditional vote counting is done first. Each DRO would count the ballots for school trustee, any regional council offices, seal the ballots in the ballot box, report the totals and send the ballot box to the clerk The clerk, upon receiving all the ballot boxes, would open them again to count the ballots for local council offices The regulation does not specify if the vote counting must be continuous (e.g. it’s up to the clerk to decide if the first round is counted on voting night, with subsequent rounds occurring the next day after the first round results are verified) December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Vote Counting – Single Member

Single Member – Overview

Key Terms Continuing Candidate A continuing candidate is one who is still “in the race”: In a single member election, any candidate who has not been eliminated In a multi-member election, any candidate who has not been eliminated, or who is not a “successful candidate” Votes are transferred to the continuing candidate with the next highest preference (e.g. if the second preference on the ballot is for a candidate who has already been eliminated, the third preference becomes the “next highest preference”.) December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Single Member – Steps Calculate the threshold: [valid ballots cast / (seats +1)] +1 First Round: Count the number of votes cast for each candidate based on each elector’s highest ranking (the vote is cast for the candidate who was given the highest preference on the ballot) If a candidate meets or exceeds the threshold, declare the candidate elected (as soon as possible after voting day) If no candidate has reached the threshold, eliminate either: The single candidate with the fewest votes; or The batch of candidates with no mathematical chance of winning Identify any exhausted ballots among the ballots to be transferred from the eliminated candidate(s) Transfer the votes from the eliminated candidate(s) to the continuing candidate who was given the next highest ranking on each ballot December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Single Member – Steps Second Round (and any subsequent rounds): Count the number of votes received by each candidate (this includes the votes that were counted as cast for the candidate in the first round, and any votes transferred to the candidate from an eliminated candidate) If a candidate meets or exceeds the threshold, declare the candidate elected (as soon as possible after voting day) If no candidate has reached the threshold, eliminate either: The single candidate with the fewest votes; or The batch of candidates with no mathematical chance of winning Identify any exhausted ballots among the ballots to be transferred from the eliminated candidate(s) Transfer the votes from the eliminated candidate(s) to the continuing candidate who was given the next highest ranking on each ballot Continue this process until a winner is determined. December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Key Terms Single Elimination If no candidate has reached the threshold needed to be elected, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated Only one candidate is eliminated per round If two or more candidates are tied with the lowest number of votes, the tie must be broken and one candidate eliminated in that round December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Key Terms Batch Elimination If no candidate has reached the threshold needed to be elected, all candidates who have no mathematical chance of being elected are eliminated simultaneously A candidate has no mathematical chance of being elected if the total of the votes they received, plus the total of all of the votes received by the candidates below them on the list, would not be enough to put them ahead of the candidate above them on the list. Example: Candidate U: 38 votes Candidate V: 25 votes Candidate W: 10 votes Candidate X: 5 votes Candidate Y: 4 votes Candidates W, X, and Y can be eliminated. If all of X and Y’s votes were transferred to W, W would still end up in last place with 19 votes. December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Vote Counting – Multi-Member

Multi-Member – Overview

Key Terms Successful Candidate In a multi-member election, a candidate who has exceeded the threshold and has the highest number of votes is the “successful candidate” The “successful candidate” is the candidate whose surplus will be distributed in that round. There is only one “successful candidate” per round, unless the number of candidates who have reached the threshold is equal to the number of candidates to be elected. (In that case, the counting stops, as there is no need to transfer any candidate’s surplus.) The term “successful candidate” is used instead of “elected”, as the clerk is not required to declare candidates to be elected until “as soon as possible after voting day” December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Multi-Member – Steps Calculate the threshold: [valid ballots cast / (seats +1)] +1 First Round: Count the number of votes cast for each candidate (the vote is cast for the candidate who was given the highest preference on the ballot) If the number of candidates that meet or exceed the threshold equals the number of candidates to be elected, declare the candidates to be elected (as soon as possible after voting day) If a candidate meets or exceeds the threshold, that candidate is the successful candidate. If no candidate has reached the threshold, eliminate either: The single candidate with the fewest votes; or The batch of candidates with no mathematical chance of winning Identify any exhausted ballots among the ballots to be transferred from the successful candidate, or the eliminated candidate(s), as the case may be. Transfer the surplus votes from the successful candidate or eliminated candidate(s), as the case may be, to the continuing candidate who was given the next highest ranking on each ballot December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Multi-Member – Steps Vote transfer for a successful candidate: Calculate the transfer ratio: (votes cast for candidate – threshold) / (votes cast for candidate) Each ballot must be multiplied by the transfer ratio to determine the transfer value of the vote (i.e. the fraction of the vote that will be transferred to the next preference) Part of each vote stays with the successful candidate, so that in subsequent rounds, the candidate will be reported as having the same number of votes as the threshold Vote transfer for an eliminated candidate: Votes are transferred at their current value December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Multi-Member – Steps Second Round (and any subsequent rounds): Count the number of votes received by each candidate (this includes the votes that were counted as cast for the candidate in the first round, and any votes or partial votes transferred to the candidate from a successful candidate or an eliminated candidate) If the number of candidates that meet or exceed the threshold equals the number of candidates to be elected, declare the candidates to be elected (as soon as possible after voting day) If a candidate meets or exceeds the threshold, that candidate is the successful candidate. If no candidate has reached the threshold, eliminate either: The single candidate with the fewest votes; or The batch of candidates with no mathematical chance of winning Identify any exhausted ballots among the ballots to be transferred from the successful candidate, or the eliminated candidate(s), as the case may be. Transfer the surplus votes from the successful candidate or eliminated candidate(s), as the case may be, to the continuing candidate who was given the next highest ranking on each ballot December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Breaking a Tie Note: The purpose of breaking a tie is not to determine a “winner”; it is to determine which candidate will have something happen to them. The rules to determine who has the fewest votes: The candidate with the fewest number of votes in the preceding round (if tied in preceding round, look to the round preceding that round) If the candidates are tied in all preceding rounds, draw a name. The name drawn is the candidate who is deemed to have the fewest votes The rules to determine who has the greatest number of votes: The candidate with the greatest number of votes in the preceding round (if tied in preceding round, look to the round preceding that round) If the candidates are tied in all preceding rounds, draw a name. The name drawn is the candidate who is deemed to have the greatest number of votes December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Reporting Requirements and Recounts

Reporting Requirements
As soon as possible after voting day, the clerk must make the following information available for each office: Number of ballots cast Number of declined ballots Number of rejected ballots Threshold for the office Number of votes cast for each candidate in the first round Results of each round of vote counting, including the number of votes received by each candidate and the number of exhausted ballots December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

Judicial Recounts The courts do not have the authority to order a recount for a ranked ballot election using a different manner of vote counting The court can determine the validity of disputed ballots; the court may require the clerk to conduct a recount If required by the court, the clerk conducts a recount of the votes for all the candidates for the office The clerk reports the results of the recount to the court The court announces the results of the recount December-28-18 Ministry of Municipal Affairs

RESOURCES www.amo.on.ca Municipal World Magazine:
Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO): Association of Municipalities of Ontario:

RESOURCES (cont’d) Municipal Elections Act, 1996 Municipal Act, 2001
e-Laws: Municipal Elections Act, 1996 Municipal Act, 2001 Municipal Conflict of Interest Act Education Act O. Reg 310/16 – Ranked Ballot Elections MMAH municipal elections website:

Contact Information Ministry of Municipal Affairs/Ministry of Housing Municipal Services Office Eastern Damien Schaefer, Municipal Advisor, or ext.106 Carol D. Church, Municipal Advisor, or ext. 130

City of Cornwall, February, 2017

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