Enumerators at Your Door, June 25-July 1

EDITORS: This is the first in a series of feature material on the electoral process provided by Communications Nova Scotia as voters prepare to cast ballots in a provincial election July 27, 1999. Please note the time elements in some of the features.

A fresh voters' list for the July 27 provincial election begins taking shape this week as enumerators fan out across Nova Scotia with pen and paper in hand.

Starting Friday, June 25, and continuing for one week, thousands of enumerators will be knocking on the door of every house, apartment, seniors' home and other residences. They'll be asking for the names and birthdates of eligible voters who live at your household, and confirming the mailing and civic addresses of these voters.

"Enumeration is an effective way of ensuring a person's right to vote on election day," said Janet Willwerth, Nova Scotia's acting chief electoral officer. "An accurate list of electors helps in guaranteeing that election day runs as smoothly as possible."

Almost 5,000 enumerators are behind this all-out effort to compile as comprehensive and as accurate a voters' list as possible. They'll be knocking on doors between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day from June 25 to July 1. All will wear identification: a white button with the words, in black, Elections Nova Scotia Enumerator.

If no one is at home when the enumerators knock, they will try again later. If an eligible voter is still missed, he or she may apply to be added to the voters' list at a sitting of the revising officer, which will take place July 15-17.

To qualify to vote, a person must be 18 years of age or older on election day, a Canadian citizen or British subject, and a resident of Nova Scotia for six months prior to the election call.

After a household is counted, a notice of enumeration card is mailed to every voter whose name is on the list of electors. Prior to the March 1998 election, almost 650,000 eligible voters received notice of enumeration cards. Besides detailing when and where to vote, the cards also give information on special and advance polls and other details about the election.

Those not on the electors' list cannot vote at the advance poll or by proxy. They may, however, vote at the special poll or on election day after meeting certain qualifications.

Provincially, there remains a legal requirement, under the Elections Act, to carry out the $800,000 enumeration process before each election.

"Some Nova Scotians may question the need for another full-scale enumeration so soon after the last one, just prior to the 1998 election," said Ms. Willwerth. "Statistics show that more than 20 per cent of the population moves each year. Starting with a clean slate each time, and knocking on every door, is really the most effective way of compiling an accurate voters' list."

Nova Scotia cannot use the permanent federal voters' registry at this time for several reasons. Besides the legal requirement to enumerate, the provincial electoral map has 52 ridings, compared with the federal system's 11 in Nova Scotia. And British subjects are not permitted to vote in federal elections.