Residency Requirements
The Greater Victoria Area is made up of many municipalities so you may be unsure of whether you are a City of Victoria resident or resident of another municipality. If you are a property owner, check your property tax receipt or phone Legislative Services at 250.361.0571 to confirm in which municipality you reside. If you are a renter and think you might be a Victoria resident, please call Legislative Services at 250.361.0571. Only City of Victoria residents and non-resident property owners are eligible to vote in the Victoria election.
Elector Information
Pursuant to the City of Victoria election bylaw, all electors will be asked to prove their identity and residence before they receive a ballot. All electors must present two of the identity documents noted below at the Voting Place when they cast their ballots.
NOTE: If you do not have a fixed address, you are still able to vote so long as you sign a certificate of residency – meaning, if you have lived in Beacon Hill park, or are transient within the city you can still vote. So long as you have been in the city for over 30 days, and in British Columbia for 6 months.
If you only have one Piece of ID or no ID, you may be able to register to vote so long as you have someone who is a registered voter t vouch for you that a) you are in fact who you are and b) that you can sign the declaration of residency.
Resident Elector Qualification
In order to be eligible to vote as a resident elector on Voting Day you must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- age 18 or older; and
- a Canadian citizen; and
- a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
- a resident of the City of Victoria for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration; and
- not disqualified by any enactment from voting in an election or otherwise disqualified by law.
Voter Registration
You must register to vote before you receive a ballot. The City of Victoria uses the Provincial Voters’ List as the City’s List of Electors for local general elections. If you are registered as a provincial voter, you should be on this list.
Elector Registration
If you are unsure about whether or not you are registered to vote, or if you know you are not registered to vote, please contact the Deputy Chief Election Officer at 250.361.0549 for further information. You may register in advance at Victoria City Hall until September 27, 2011.
Advance registration closes on September 27, 2011. If you are not a registered elector by that time you may register to vote at a voting place on either of the advance voting days, or on general voting day.
Elector Identity Documents
The following are valid identity documents for proving elector identity:
- a British Columbia Driver’s Licence
- a British Columbia Identification Card issued by the Motor Vehicle Branch
- an Owner’s Certificate of Insurance and Vehicle Licence issued by the Insurance Corporation of BC
- a British Columbia CareCard or British Columbia Gold CareCard
- a Ministry of Social Development and Economic Security Request for Continued Assistance Form DES8
- a Social Insurance Card issued by Human Resources Development Canada
- a Citizenship Card issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
- a real property tax notice issued under section 369 of the Local Government Act or section 21 of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act
- a credit card or debit card issued by a savings institution as defined in s.29 of the Interpretation Act
- a utility bill issued for the supply of electricity, natural gas, water, telephone services or coaxial cable services by a public utility as defined in section 1 of the Utilities Commission Act:
- a gas utility as defined in section 1 of the Gas Utility Act,
- a water utility as defined in section 1 of the Water Act,
- the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, or
- a corporation licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for the purposes of that supply.
Non-Resident Property Elector Qualifications
If you own property in Victoria but live elsewhere, you may be eligible to vote in the Victoria local general election as a non-resident property elector.
In order to be eligible to vote as a non-resident property elector on Voting Day you must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- age 18 or older; and
- a Canadian citizen; and
- a resident of British Columbia for at least 6 months immediately before the day of registration; and
- a registered owner of real property in the City of Victoria for at least 30 days immediately before the day of registration; and
- not entitled to register as a resident elector; and
- not disqualified by any enactment from voting in an election or otherwise disqualified by law; and
- the only persons who are registered owners of the real property, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, are individuals who are not holding the property in trust for a corporation or another trust; and
- if there is more than one registered owner of the property, only one of those individuals may, with the written consent of the majority of the owners, register as a non-resident property elector.
If you are not registered as a non-resident property elector on the City’s list of electors but qualify to be registered as a non-resident property elector, you may register as such prior to voting. You may apply for a certificate to register as a non-resident property elector by coming to the office of Legislative Services, Victoria City Hall, 1 Centennial Square, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday (excluding holidays). In order to receive a certificate to register as a non-resident property elector, you must prove your identity (two pieces of identification which must between them prove identity and residence, one of which must have your signature) and your eligibility to register (for instance, a property title deed or current City of Victoria property tax receipt, and a letter of consent from joint owners, if applicable).
We suggest that you apply for a Certificate to Register prior to voting. Presentation of such a certificate will allow you to vote without having to produce other proof of ownership of the property in question on voting day.
When applying for the certificate you will be asked to show:
- Two pieces of identification: one with residence address; one with signature of elector.
- Property title deed or property tax receipt.
- Consent Form – it is available at Legislative Services, Victoria City Hall.
- This is required only if the property is owned jointly with other individuals.
For further information about registering to vote as a non-resident property election, please contact Legislative Services at 250.361.0571.
Advance and Special Advance Voting Opportunities
Advance Voting Opportunities: Advance Voting Opportunities are open to electors who expect to be absent from the City of Victoria on general voting day, who are unable to attend a Voting Place on general voting day, or who have a physical disability or a mobility impairment. At least two advance voting opportunities will be held.
Special Advance Voting Opportunities: Special Advance Voting Opportunities are open to electors who are residents or staff members of health care or other facilities who would otherwise not be able to vote. These electors will be notified of such voting opportunities.
What if I Need Assistance to Vote?
All local governments are required to make voting places as accessible as possible to people with disabilities or impaired mobility. If you find it difficult to get into a voting place, but can make it to the parking lot or the curb outside, you may request an election official to bring you a ballot. This is called curbside voting. If you are unable to mark your own ballot, you may ask an election official, friend or relative to help you. If you need a translator, you may bring someone to assist you.
What if I am unable to attend an advance voting opportunity or vote on general voting day?
Changes to the City’s election bylaw enable the City to provide you with a mail ballot. If you wish to take part in the mail ballot process, please contact 250.361.0571 or email the Deputy Chief Election Officer.
Mail Balloting
If you are unable to attend either the advance voting opportunities or a voting place on general voting day you may be able to vote by mail. For information, please contact 250.361.0571 or email the Deputy Chief Election Officer.
Provincial Voters Guide
The Provincial Government has produced a guide for voters that can be found at the following link:
- BC Government Voters Guide – [PDF 165KB]
Voting Places
- Burnside Campus, 3130 Jutland Road
- Central Baptist Church, 833 Pandora Avenue
- Cook Street Activity Centre 380 Cook Street
- George Jay Elementary School, 1118 Princess Street
- James Bay Community School, 140 Oswego Street
- James Bay New Horizon Centre, 234 Menzies Street
- Margaret Jenkins Elementary School, 1824 Fairfield Road
- Oaklands Elementary School, 2827 Belmont Avenue
- Quadra Elementary School, 3031 Quadra Street
- Sir James Douglas Elementary School, 401 Moss Street
- Sundance Elementary School, 1625 Bank Street
- Vic West Community Centre, 521 Craigflower Road
Campaign Organizers
New legislation requires people or organizations seeking to affect the outcome of the municipal election by organizing a campaign to be known as “campaign organizers”, and places the same requirements for financial reporting on those individuals or groups as it does on candidates or elector organizations.
Campaign organizers who intend to campaign for or against a candidate or try to affect the outcome of elections based on specific issues, but who can not endorse candidates in the manner elector organizations can, must appoint a financial agent, must open an election-specific bank account and must account for both donations and expenditures in the same manner as elector organizations. The reporting requirement for this disclosure is set at $500 in donations or $500 in expenditures – after receiving $500 in donations or expending $500, the campaign organizer must advise the chief election officer.
For more information, please see the following document produced by the Provincial Government:
- Campaign Organizer and Elector Organization Guide – [PDF 308KB]
