General local elections offences

General local election offences fall into one of two categories:

• General election offences committed under the Local Government Act (or the Vancouver Charter for elections in the City of Vancouver)
• Campaign financing offences committed under the Local Election Campaign Financing Act

General election offences under the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter

General election offences outlined in the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter include but are not limited to activities such as vote buying, intimidation, fraudulently voting, falsely withdrawing a candidate, interfering with ballots or ballot boxes, campaigning within 100 metres of a voting place during voting proceedings, and hindering or obstructing an election official.

Vote buying

It is an election offence to offer inducements to an elector to vote or not to vote, or to vote or not vote for a particular candidate. Inducements include money, gifts, valuable consideration, refreshments, entertainment, office, placement, employment and any other benefit of any kind in exchange for their vote for a particular candidate. It is also an offence for an elector to accept inducements for refraining from voting or voting in a particular way.

Examples of vote-buying include buying coffee for an elector or volunteering to drive an elector to a voting place on the condition that the elector vote for a particular candidate These activities would be permitted provided there is no subjective intent to influence another person's voting behaviour.

Intimidation

It is an election offence to intimidate an elector, by action or threat, to compel the elector to vote, to vote for a particular candidate, or to refrain from voting. It is also an election offence to punish an elector for voting or refraining from voting generally, or for voting for a particular candidate(s).

Intimidation means to use force, violence or restraint against a person; inflict injury, harm, damage or loss on a person or property; or to threaten to do any of those actions.

Other election offences

Other election offences under the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter include, and are not limited to:

• falsely withdrawing a candidate from an election, distributing a false statement that a candidate has withdrawn or falsely withdrawing an elector organization’s candidate endorsement, or consenting to nomination knowing they are not qualified to be nominated;
• participating in fraudulent voting, including voting when not entitled to do so, voting more than once in an election, obtaining a ballot in the name of another person, or failing to preserve the secrecy of a ballot;
• interfering with the secrecy of the ballot, tampering with ballots or ballot boxes, or printing, reproducing, giving out or destroying ballots without authorization;
• campaigning and engaging in other activities that show support for one candidate over another, or for an elector organization, within 100 metres of a voting place during voting proceedings;
• providing false or misleading information or statements/declarations when the Local Government Act or Vancouver Charter requires or authorizes individuals to provide it;
• inspecting or accessing election materials or using the information for purposes not authorized under the Local Government Act or Vancouver Charter; and,
• interfering, hindering or obstructing an election official or other person in the performance of their duties under the Local Government Act, Vancouver Charter, or Local Elections Campaign Financing Act.

Penalties

An individual who commits vote-buying or intimidation may be subject to penalties including fines of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to two years and/or disqualification from holding elected office in a local government for up to seven years, in addition to any other penalty under legislation.

Individuals and/or elector organization representatives (for example, the financial agent) that commit any other election offence under the Local Government Act or Vancouver Charter may be subject to penalties that include fines of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year.

Under the Local Government Act and Vancouver Charter, a person or elector organization is not guilty of an offence if the person or organization exercised due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

Reporting and enforcement

The Province of B.C. does not have a role in investigating or reporting general local election offences under the Local Government Act or Vancouver Charter.

The police are responsible for determining if an investigation is necessary, conducting that investigation and recommending to Crown counsel whether charges could be laid. Crown counsel makes the determination as to whether to proceed with a prosecution. Election offences are prosecuted through the courts.

Contact your local police if you believe someone has committed an election offence. You will be required to provide evidence to support your allegation.

You can also contact your local Chief Election Officer and/or police if you believe someone has committed an election offence. In some cases, the local Chief Election Officer will be able to deal with the offence immediately (e.g. covering up a sign placed within 100 metres of a voting location), and in others the police may need to be involved.

The Chief Election Officer may refer matters to the police and may also submit an application to the court about the validity of the election if the Chief Election Officer becomes aware that vote buying, intimidation or voting when not entitled occurred during the election.

The time limit for initiating the prosecution of an offence under the Local Government Act or Vancouver Charter is one year after the date on which the act or omission that is alleged to constitute the offence occurred.

Campaign financing offences under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act

Campaign financing offences

Campaign financing offences refer to contraventions of the rules under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act. These types of offences may be committed by candidates, financial agents, elector organizations and third party sponsors.

Campaign financing offences are managed through Elections BC, a non-partisan and independent Office of the Legislature that administers, investigates and enforces the campaign financing disclosure requirements including expense limits, campaign contribution limits and election advertising rules under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act.

• Guide to Local Elections Campaign Financing in B.C. for Candidates and their Financial Agent (PDF, 864KB)

Penalties

Campaign financing penalties are typically determined by the Supreme Court of B.C. Automatic penalties, including disqualification of a candidate from office and administrative monetary penalties, can be imposed without Supreme Court involvement at the discretion of Elections BC.

A candidate who failed to file a campaign financing disclosure statement or supplementary report with Elections BC by the filing deadline, and did not receive court relief from the requirement to do so, is automatically disqualified from being nominated for, elected to or holding office anywhere in B.C. until after the next general local election.

Individuals, elector organizations and third party sponsors may be subject to penalties that include the following, depending on the nature of the offence:

• Individuals: Fines of up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year, disqualification until after next general local election from being nominated for, elected to, or holding office on a local authority; fines up to $10,000, and/or imprisonment for up to two years (a candidate declared elected also loses their seat, and the seat then becomes vacant).
• Elector organizations: Fines of up to $10,000, prohibition from endorsing candidates, accepting campaign contributions/incurring election expenses until after the next general local election; fines up to $20,000.
• Third party sponsors: Prohibition from sponsoring third party advertising or assent voting advertising, accepting sponsorship contributions until after the next general local election, fines up to $10,000 for individuals and/or imprisonment for up to two years or fines of up to $20,000 for organizations.

Reporting and enforcement

Notify Elections BC if you believe someone has committed a campaign financing election offence. Elections BC is responsible for administering and enforcing local election advertising and campaign financing rules.