Frequently Asked Questions
List of Electors
Q. Am I allowed to vote?
A. A person is qualified to vote in a provincial election if they are:
- a Canadian citizen;
- eighteen years of age on or before polling day;
- ordinarily resident in the province for 40 days immediately preceding the date of the election;
- ordinarily resident in the electoral district at the date of the election.
A person is qualified to vote in a municipality, school district, or regional health authority election if they are:
- a Canadian citizen;
- eighteen years of age on or before polling day;
- ordinarily resident in the province for 40 days immediately preceding the date of the election;
- ordinarily resident in the municipality, school subdistrict, or health subregion at the date of the election.
This means if you have lived in NB for 40 days and move even on the day of the election, you are allowed to vote at your new address. Note that in this case, you will have to be added to the List of Electors at your new address.
Q. Do I need ID to vote?
Why wasn't I asked for ID at the polling station when I voted?
A. To vote in a federal election, you must now show identification to vote.
In NB, the electoral system is based on the honour system (your word of honour) i.e. we trust that you are who you say you are, if your name is already on the List of Electors.
When you arrive at the polling station, you are required to state your name and address to the poll worker so that they can find your name on the List of Electors.
An election officer or a scrutineer who works for a candidate may challenge your right to vote at the polling station if he feels you are not an eligible elector. If this occurs, you will have to take an oath before you may receive a ballot.
Q. Am I on the List of Electors?
A. Everyone who is on the Register of Electors will be listed, and will be mailed a Voter Information Card prior to the advance polls. If you voted in the last province wide election you should be on the list, but occasionally people are missed.
Contact your Returning Office or Elections NB to confirm if your name is listed properly. If it is, they can advise you where you can vote. When you do visit a polling location, tell the Polling Official your name and address and your name will be looked up.
If your name is not on the List of Electors, you will have to be added to the list before you may vote.
Q. Can a student who is originally from another province vote in a New Brunswick election?
A. A student from another province studying at a New Brunswick university or college can only vote if they have made New Brunswick their “ordinary residence” (and have been here for more than 40 days before an election). It is important to remember that NO ONE can be ordinarily resident in more than one province at the same time, regardless of where they temporarily reside or for what purpose they are residing there. Some indicators of a person’s ordinary residence include in which province they are a licensed driver and what province’s Medicare system they access. However, these are not determinative as “ordinary residence” is based on a person’s subjective intention to make New Brunswick their home.
Please see the following link for further explanation and examples:
https://www.electionsnb.ca/content/enb/en/voters/student-voters.html
Q. How is my name added to the List of Electors?
I just turned 18;
I became a Canadian;
I moved here from another province.
A. Between elections:
An elector may visit any Service New Brunswick service centre to request his or her information be updated on the Register of Electors. This opportunity is also offered to residents when they make changes to their address or legal name and wish to update their drivers license, for example. Service New Brunswick began to collect this information on August 1, 2007.
The information is collected and sent to Elections NB, where a match attempt is made with the names and addresses found on the Register of Electors. If the matching elector is found, the update is performed immediately. If the name and address is not found on the Register of Electors, Elections NB will send the resident a certification form and a stamped return envelope. Before a resident’s name may be added to the Register of Electors, section 20.8(1) of the Elections Act requires that a signed certification that the elector qualifications are met be received by Elections NB. When the certification is returned, the elector will be added to the Register of Electors immediately.
Elections NB also receives information from Elections Canada twice a year. We attempt to match information with the Register of Electors, and in many cases update the NB register. However, in some cases we cannot add a voter’s name due to problems with the address or other data.
During elections:
You can be added to the List of Electors during an election by visiting a Returning Office or Satellite Office and completing an Application for Addition form. Alternately, you may be added to the List of Electors at an advance or ordinary polling station when you go to vote.
In either case, you will need to bring one or more pieces of identification that between them show your name, civic address and signature (but no bank or credit cards). A New Brunswick driver’s license has all the necessary information; if you don’t have a license, your Medicare card shows your name and signature, but you will need another item, such as a passport, rent receipt, or utility bill, to show your current address. You will then have to sign the application.
If you don't have identification documents, you may also have an eligible elector who is on the List of Electors at the polling station vouch for you, and swear an oath that you meet the qualifications to vote.
Q. I didn’t get a Voter Information Card in the mail.
A. You do not need a Voter Information Card to vote, although it makes it faster. If you did not receive a card, contact your Returning Office or Elections NB to confirm if your name is listed properly. If it is, they can advise you where you can vote. When you do visit a polling location, tell the Polling Official your name and address and your name will be looked up.
If your name is not on the List of Electors, you will have to be added to the list before you may vote.
Q. I moved. Can I update my information over the phone?
A. Yes, if you have moved within New Brunswick.
If you have moved to NB from out of province, you must be added to the List of Electors.
To correct personal information during an election, an elector may contact the local Returning Office or Elections NB by telephone, and after satisfactorily proving their identity to the revision agent, may update their personal information. If the elector's name cannot be located at his or her current or former address in NB, the elector will have to be added to the List of Electors.
Q. What if my name or address is incorrect on the List of Electors?
A. To correct personal information during an election, an elector may contact the local Returning Office or Elections NB by telephone, and after satisfactorily proving their identity to the revision agent, may update their personal information. If the elector's name cannot be located at his or her current or former address in NB, the elector will have to be added to the List of Electors.
An elector may also complete an Application for Correction or Deletion form when they go to the polls to vote, and leave it with the election officers at their poll; their information will then be corrected at the returning office after polling day.
Q. Where is a person “ordinarily resident”?
A. For the most part, people only live in one place, and that is where they are "ordinarily resident". However, it isn’t always clear:-
If you have two residences, one where the rest of your family lives and one where you live part of the time for work or school reasons, the place where your family lives is your "ordinary residence".
A summer residence, used mainly from May to October, will not be considered an "ordinary residence" unless you have no other residence in the province.
Residents of nursing homes, special care homes, and extended care units of hospitals are usually considered "ordinarily resident" in those facilities.
Inmates in correctional facilities who were ordinarily resident in New Brunswick before their arrest or sentencing can vote by special ballot in the region in which they were living prior to their arrest, no matter where they are incarcerated.
f you are unsure where you are "ordinarily resident", call your Returning Office or Elections NB and we will help you sort it out.
Q. Who is ineligible to vote?
A. In a provincial election, only the Chief Electoral Officer for the province and the returning officer for each electoral district cannot normally vote. A returning officer can vote to break a tie (after a re-count).
In a municipal, school district, or regional health authority election, only the Municipal Electoral Officer for the province cannot vote.
Q. Who can see the List of Electors?
A. Only election officials or candidates are allowed to see the list. If you believe someone not qualified to vote is on the list you can ask the Returning Officer to confirm if they are, but election officials cannot give the listed address of any voter to another person.
Candidates may obtain Lists of Electors during an election, and the lists may only be used for election purposes.
Between elections, Members of the Legislative Assembly and registered political parties get a copy of the list annually, to assist in contacting constituents.
Q. Can a Voters List be used for research or historical purposes?
A. Following provincial elections, the Lists of Electors used at the polling stations eventually become part of the provincial archives, and then are public documents available to researchers and historians. Details of this process are available from the Provincial Archives at (506) 453-2122.
Q. Can I refuse to be on the List of Electors?
A. Yes, but you must be on the list in order to vote.
If you want your name taken off the list after voting, you must request this in writing to Elections NB in Fredericton.
Q. Can I still vote if I’m not on the List of Electors?
A. If your name is not on the List of Electors, you will have to be added to the list before you may vote.
Q. How come my spouse has received a letter to update his information and I haven’t received a letter, did you miss me?
A. Have you currently moved to the address you’re at?
Did you update your license or address at Service NB?
Did you agree to them when they asked you if you would like them to make your information available to Elections NB?
If you have moved to a new address, or are new to the province, you have to give permission for Service NB to send us your update of information when you are there. This is most likely why we have not mailed a letter.
Another reason would be that the person doesn’t have a drivers license or the person has not visited Service NB to let them know about the update or change of address. That is most likely why we have not mailed a letter.
Elections NB will only send a letter if
* You have visited Service NB to update your information (like a drivers license),
* You have given permission for Service NB to send us the information,
* We have not found a match using the name and previous address provided.
Q. How do I know if I am a Canadian citizen?
A. An immigrant with “landed immigrant” or “permanent resident” status is not yet a Canadian citizen.
If you have been issued a Canadian passport or citizenship certificate, you are a Canadian citizen.
If you were born in Canada of parents who were Canadian citizens you are a citizen, but if you were born outside of Canada call Citizenship and Immigration (Citizenship office) if you have any questions. The toll free number is 1 888 242-2100.
Q. I already advised Elections NB of my change of address and my Voter Information Card was still sent to the wrong address. I want my address fixed!
A. Sometimes the data entry workers make mistakes when information is updated. If your name can be found on the Registry of Electors, your information can be updated over the phone, and will be corrected for any other upcoming local and provincial elections in NB.
Q. I received a letter in the mail from Elections NB asking me about being added to the New Brunswick Register of Electors. It had a pamphlet and a return envelope in it.
A. Recently, Elections NB received your updated name and address information from Service New Brunswick. We did not find your name registered to vote in provincial or local electoral events when we tried to match your name with those on the Register of Electors. You may have moved more than once since we last updated our information, or possibly the information was typed wrong before being sent to us.
Before your name may be added to the Register of Electors, Elections NB must receive a signed certification that you meet the voter qualifications for New Brunswick.
Please:
* Review the enclosed information that Elections NB received;
* Make any changes necessary;
* Sign the form; and
* Return the form in the enclosed stamped envelope, or by fax.
When the certification is returned, the elector will be added to the Register of Electors immediately.
Q. I want a copy of the List of Electors.
A. Only election officials or candidates are allowed to see the list. If you will be a candidate in the election, you must first file your nomination papers and have them accepted by your Returning Officer.
Then you may request access to the List of Electors for your area. You will only have access to the portion of the local government, rural district, school subdistrict, or health subregion where you are running as a candidate.
The lists may only be used for election purposes during the election, and must be destroyed afterwards.
You will be required to sign an “Declaration Regarding Candidate’s Use of the Lists of Electors” before you will be provided the information. The lists may not be emailed to anyone, and must be picked up physically from the Returning Office.
Q. Why can’t you add or correct my name on the List of Electors using information from my tax return?
A. When you allow your name and address from your tax return to be shared with Elections Canada, this does not send your name to Elections NB. The federal voter registry is different than the New Brunswick Register of Electors. Also, the federal and provincial voter qualifications are different.
Q. Why is my name on the federal list and not on the NB list?
I voted for my federal MP, why am I not included on the Register of Electors?
A. The federal voter registry is different than the New Brunswick Register of Electors. Elections Canada periodically shares information with Elections NB, but in some cases we cannot update our list due to differences in the information. Because the federal and provincial voter qualifications are different, you may not automatically meet the voter qualifications for New Brunswick.
Q. If I have dual citizenship, in Canada and another country, can I vote and retain my dual citizenship?
A. Voting doesn’t affect your Canadian citizenship rights; check with the embassy or consulate for the other country of which you are a citizen to find out its rules. United States citizens’ rights are not affected.
Q. Is there a penalty for misuse of the List of Electors?
A. Yes, there are substantial fines for misuse of a List of Electors.
Q. Can Judges vote?
A. Yes, but they cannot be candidates in an election.
Q. Can people serving a sentence in a correctional facility/ jail / prison vote?
A. Yes, all eligible electors may vote if they meet the qualifications of an elector.
They must vote for the region in which they were ordinarily resident at the time of their sentencing. If they have no previous address, they vote in the region where the court from which they were sentenced is located.