Proposed changes to election laws have the support of Okanagan-Shuswap MP Colin Mayes.
The Fair Elections Act was introduced by the federal government Tuesday.
“The act will make our laws clear and easy to follow. It will also make life harder for election law-breakers and put the focus back on honest people taking part in our democratic system,” said Mayes.
Mayes added that act implements 38 of the chief electoral officer’s past recommendations and addresses concerns raised by Canadians, various groups, Elections Canada and parliamentarians.
Among the components of the legislation are:
n Protect voters from rogue calls with a mandatory public registry for mass calling, increasing penalties and prison time for impersonating elections officials.
n Give more independence to the commissioner of Elections Canada, allowing them control over their staff and investigations, empowering them to seek tougher penalties for existing electoral offences and providing more than a dozen new offences.
n Crack down on voter fraud by prohibiting vouching or voter information cards as acceptable forms of ID.
n Repeal the ban on premature transmission of election results.
n Establish an extra day of polling.
“Our government committed to introducing and implementing this legislation in time for the next federal election,” said Mayes. “I’m pleased that these new rules will be in place long before then.”
