Accessible Polls and Other Election Facts

EDITORS: This is the third 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 items.

CANDIDATES NOMINATED
Four parties, six independents and 178 candidates in total will contest this summer's provincial election. Nominations closed Tuesday for the July 27 vote.

The Liberals, NDP and Progressive Conservatives have put forward a candidate in each of the province's 52 ridings. The Nova Scotia Provincial Party has 16 candidates running for election.

REMOVING BARRIERS
Most polling stations this election are accessible to voters with a disability.

About 21 of the approximately 2,500 polling stations provincewide

• or less than one per cent -- are considered inaccessible, compared with about 63 stations in last year's vote.

All advance polling stations are accessible, meaning the sites have level access. Ballot templates are available for persons who are visually impaired.

Voters who need their name transferred to an accessible polling station for the provincial election July 27 are asked to call the returning office in their riding by 10 p.m. July 24.

Enumeration cards contain information on the accessible status of polling stations.

FRANCHISE EXERCISED
Nova Scotia's voter turnout rate rises and dips in provincial elections, but it is traditionally high.

Only twice in the past 20 years has the turnout dropped below 70 per cent: in March 1998, about 69 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot, slightly above the 1984 mark of 67.5 per cent.

During provincial elections in 1993, 1988, 1981 and 1978, between 74 and 78 per cent of voters cast ballots.

Federally, voter turnout across the country ranged between 67 per cent in 1997 and 75 per cent in 1984.

REVISING THE LIST
Nova Scotians whose names are missing from the voters' list have an opportunity later this week to fix the omission.

Elections officials responsible for revising the voters' list -- called revising officers -- will hold sittings July 15-17. Eligible voters can attend one of these sittings and apply to be added to the list, or have errors fixed.

The sittings are noon to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Locations in each riding are on a neighbour's voter card, or available from the returning officer. For phone numbers of returning offices or other information, contact Public Enquiries at 1-800-670-4357, or 424-5200 in the Halifax area.

Eligible voters not on the list by election day may still cast a ballot after following procedures set out in the Elections Act. The returning officer will explain these procedures.

ENUMERATION DOWN
The number of people registered to vote July 27 has dropped by about 13,000, compared with the last election.

Elections Nova Scotia enumerated more than 626,000 voters recently, compared with almost 640,000 in 1998.

Acting chief electoral officer Janet Willwerth said the most significant drop in numbers took place in districts with and around universities.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For other items in this series, listed below, check Communications Nova Scotia's news release website at www.gov.ns.ca/news/, e-mail CNSrelease@gov.ns.ca or phone 902-424-4492.
June 23 -- Enumerators at Your Door, June 25-July 1
July 6 -- Proxy Votes and Other Election Facts