Staff Report to Special Council: Mail Ballot Information

Staff Report to Special Council

DATE: Monday, March 30, 2026
DEPARTMENT: Administration
SUBJECT: Mail Ballot Information

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

The purpose of this report is to provide Council with respect to information on amending Bylaw No. 1819, Election Bylaw to include mail ballot voting as an option for local elections and assent voting. The report provides a summary of the process of offering mail ballots together with the impacts on costs, staff resourcing, and voter turnout, in order for Council to determine whether or not to have staff proceed with implementing this option.

BACKGROUND:

At the Regular Meeting held Tuesday, February 17, 2026, Council adopted the following resolution:

“THAT Council receive the report dated February 17, 2026, from the Director of Legislative and Protective Services titled “Review of Elections Bylaw No. 1819” for information;

AND THAT Council direct staff to prepare a report outlining the implications of adding mail in ballot voting options for the 2026 election to be brought back no later than the April 7, 2026 Council meeting.”

Mail Ballot Legislative Background:

Until 2021, mail ballots were reserved for electors that met the criteria as set out in the Local Government Act. In a municipality that offered mail in ballots, electors would have to prove that they were eligible for a mail ballot as the result of either having a physical disability, illness, or injury, or being absent from the municipality on General Voting Day and all advanced voting opportunities.

In June 2021, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Province amended the Local Government Act to allow any voter within a municipality to request a mail ballot so long as the municipality’s election bylaw provided for mail ballots. The legislation does not require local governments to offer mail ballots. Instead, those municipalities who choose to do so, may provide this option to any elector.

In 2025, Bill 13 amended the Local Government Act to authorize the Chief Election Officer to specify drop-off locations for mail ballots and introduced the requirement for a secrecy sleeve to be included within mail ballot packages to protect the marked ballot.

Voting Procedures in Langford:

In addition to the two advanced polls and General Voting Day, the City offers Special Voting Opportunities (SVO’s) for residents of Cherish, Alexander Mackie, and the Priory, noting that these residents often have the most difficulty in getting to a polling place. The City sends election staff to these facilities and provides a two-hour period during which electors may vote. Election staff are available to provide the same level of assistance as they would at any of the regular polling places, including replacement of ballots or answering questions. For the advance voting days, the polling place has been moved to Eagle Ridge Arena to better accommodate voter turnout at these polls. It is important to note that during the 2022 election, staff received no more than 30 requests for mail ballots, mostly from people who were going to be away for both the advanced and general voting days.

Some municipalities have chosen to replace special voting opportunities with mail ballots, rather than offering both. Should Council wish to introduce mail ballots as an option, it should be determined if this will be in addition to or instead of the special voting opportunities.

In order to ensure that voting locations are accessible to all, schools are typically chosen as venues for General Voting Day as they are centrally located, offer ample parking, are located on transit routes, are well known establishments within the community, and are often accessibly outfitted with ramps, paved pathways, surfaced parking lots, and have adequate signage.

In addition, curbside voting is available at every voting location in the City of Langford. Designated parking spots are reserved for the duration of voting for those who wish to vote but are unable to access the venue. Election staff facilitate voting so that the driver/occupants do not have to leave their vehicle. In addition to the convenience and accessibility benefits, electors who use this voting option have confirmation that their ballot was accepted by the voting machine or can be given the opportunity to correct or mark a new ballot if necessary.

COMMENTARY:

Staff have conducted a review of the voting options offered in all of the CRD municipalities, the results of which are found below. Also summarized are the processes for providing mail ballots, the timelines, and the projected costs.

Mail Ballots Within the CRD:

Staff canvassed CRD municipalities to see which local governments offer mail ballot voting as an option. As detailed below, most municipalities do offer mail voting; however, View Royal and Sooke are the only West Shore municipalities to do so.

Offers Mail Ballots / Does Not Offer Mail Ballots

Below is a table outlining mail ballot distribution in the 2022 Local General Election. Based on the Local Government Management Association Election Manual, a municipality preparing to offer mail ballots for the first time should anticipate 10% of the eligible electorate, plus another 5% of that figure as contingency. This figure seems exceptionally high when the average municipality surveyed in the CRD reports an average of 1.78% of their eligible electors opting to use a mail ballot.

Municipality Mail Ballot Distribution (2022)

Utilizing the average calculated above, the City could reasonably prepare ballots for 1.78% of the electorate, equating to 626 mail ballot packages that would have to be prepared. Set out below is a summary of the process for sending out mail ballots. It is not known how many, if any, of the ballots captured as “not returned” were received after the deadline.

Staff Process for Mail Ballots:

Mail ballots require an additional set of preparations and supplies to maintain the secrecy of the completed ballot. In accordance with legislation, the following items are required within a mail ballot package:

• Envelope 1* – secrecy envelope for ballot
  *Potential for this to be a secrecy sleeve as per the legislation though many municipalities use another envelope for this purpose.
• Envelope 2 – certification envelope
• Envelope 3 – return envelope
• Envelope 4 – envelope containing materials to be distributed
• Ballot(s) – these are the same ballots as those used for in person voting.
• Instruction document explaining how to vote specifically with respect to the mail ballot. The instructional document is one that is drafted by each municipality.

Consultation with staff at municipalities using mail ballots has indicated a need to devote one staff member to the mail ballot process throughout the election period to complete the following tasks:

• Preparation of mail ballot packages
• Receive applications for mail ballots
• Track applications on a digital spreadsheet
• Review and distribute mail ballot packages
• Receive and record complete mail ballots
• Respond to inquiries

Mail Ballot Timelines:

Mail ballots cannot be prepared or sent out until the ballots are received. Ballots cannot be ordered until after the deadline for a candidate to withdraw their nomination or an electoral endorsement to be withdrawn, which for this election is Friday September 18, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The estimated timeline for mail ballots is outlined as follows:

• September 22 – Place order for ballots from printer.
• September 28, 29, or October 1 – Potential delivery of ballots*.
  *September 30th is a Statutory Holiday. After ballots are delivered, elections staff must verify a count by hand of all ballots received. Ballots must also be tested on voting machines prior to issuance. If there are issues, ballots may have to be re-printed.
• October 5/6 – Earliest potential date to begin fulfilling mail ballot package requests and sending them into the postal system if needed. The City may also provide for packages to be picked up directly from City Hall during regular business hours.
• October 6-17* – Period for an elector to receive a mail ballot package, complete it, and return it to the municipality**. In addition to mail delivery, the City could accept mail ballots through a drop-off location such as the drop box in front of City Hall.
  *Researched best practice includes imposing a last day to apply for mail ballots as the last Thursday prior to general voting day. Ballots may still be received up to and including General Voting Day, but new packages would not be issued.
  **October 12 is a Statutory Holiday, no mail will be delivered or processed on this day.
• October 17 – Completed ballots must be received by closure of the polls to be counted. Any ballots received at City Hall on October 17, 2026, must be via the City Hall mail drop box prior to the 8 p.m. deadline.

The City utilizes Canada Post to send letter mail, including mail ballot packages. Canada Post provides the following general estimates on their website to help predict expected delivery of items, noting holidays and seasonal volumes can also affect delivery times:

• Within Langford – two business days.
• Within BC – three business days.
• Within Canada – four business days.
• Internationally – up to seven business days.

The above timeframes are estimates only. The risk in using the postal system for mail ballots is that any ballots received after the end of voting on General Voting Day cannot be counted. There are aspects that are beyond the City’s control with respect to the postal system including delays, job action, and service interruptions.

Some voters may choose to pick up a mail ballot package from City Hall directly. In person pickup would improve the timelines and likeliness of receiving a completed ballot back at City Hall by the deadline, however electors will still have to be mindful of the deadlines. A mail ballot package may be picked up early, but if the elector opts to mail the package back, there is potential for the application to be late and therefore not counted.

Mail Ballot Application Process:

Electors will submit a request for a mail ballot, which can be sent out either by mail or picked up in person. If mail ballots are provided, staff will determine the process for requesting ballots. This would include creation of a request form, tracking system and fulfillment process.

Mail ballot packages would be available for pickup at City Hall during regular business hours. This may not be the most convenient option for voters looking to avoid use of the postal system. Some municipalities permit voters to collect previously requested mail ballot packages during advance polling. However, requiring voters to attend the polling location solely to retrieve their package may not be the most efficient use of election staff or voters' time, especially given that they could cast their vote in person at that moment.

Rate of Return for Mail Ballots:

Throughout the CRD, no municipality surveyed reported a 100% rate of return for issued mail ballot packages. Though most received over 75% of their ballots before the deadline, this does not reflect that the ballots returned were completed accurately (i.e., marked outside of designated areas, not legible, incorrect implement used to mark the ballot, etc.).

At this time there is not enough data to determine if allowing voting by mail ballot has an impact on voter turnout.

In addition to their regular positions and duties, Legislative Services Department staff plan and administer election proceedings. As the team responsible for elections is relatively small, the addition of mail ballot administration would be a significant increase in workload. Taking notice of the input received from neighbouring municipalities, the need to devote a person to this process is not feasible unless another staff member is re-assigned to this process for the period.

Election planning and related responsibilities are expected to take up a large portion of the department’s workload for 2026. Additional processes and associated tasks would have to be considered in relation to the department’s ability to assist with Council strategic priorities and special projects as assigned by Council.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

The provision of mail ballots was not included when preparing the budget for the 2026 Local General Election.

If the City decides to use mail ballots, this option must be clearly publicised. Although it could be included within the expenses of other election-related notices, providing extra details might necessitate a larger and potentially more expensive newspaper advertisement. Additionally, the Communications Department would need to take further steps to ensure that the new voting option is widely promoted.

As noted above, there may be costs associated with preparing an application form or online intake form. In addition, an instructional document for the mail ballot package must be produced.

The envelopes listed above must be different sizes to fit inside one another without damaging the ballot. As a result, they are all different costs.

Postage cost must also be considered when discussing mail ballots. In some cases, postage to send the package and return the package may be paid by the municipality. Some local government election bylaws specify that mail ballots will only be sent via Canada Post in order to prevent expensive courier costs. However, an elector may choose to set up a courier at their own expense. In addition, City of Vancouver limits postage spending by encouraging out of country voters to send their package to local family or friends who can then courier the package on the applicant’s behalf or make alternate arrangements.

As this would be a new service for the City, it is unknown exactly how many mail ballots would be requested, however a projection must be made. Staff research suggests calculating 1.78% of the eligible electorate instead of utilizing LGMA’s calculation involving 10% of the City’s eligible voters and adding a further 5% for contingency

LGMA / Average Projections

Staff have used this projection for the cost estimates below:

Cost Estimates (using projection of 626 packages)

Postage

• $5.22 per package (mailed to the voter and prepaid postage included within package)
  OR $2.61 per package (return envelope cost)
  $5.22 x 626 packages = $3,267.72 $2.61 x 626 packages = $1,633.86

Postage costs could be between $1,633.86 and 3,267.72 Please note, postage costs could be saved if an elector was to pick up their ballot at City Hall and return it directly.

Envelopes Assuming the ballot cannot be folded, a 9X12 envelope will be needed for the secrecy sleeve and would be the smallest size.

• 9X12 Envelope x 626 packages = approximately $154
• 10X13 Envelope x 626 packages = approximately $210
• 11.5X14.5 Envelope x 626 packages = approximately $243
• 14x16 Envelope x 626 packages = approximately $486

Envelope costs could be $1,093 before taxes or shipping charges.

Inserts and Labels Best practice for mail ballots includes preparing an instructional document to be added in each mail ballot package to help voters complete the ballot and return it in the correct envelope sequencing to protect the secrecy of their ballot. This cost varies greatly as the creation of this document may be done by staff or could be contracted out. Additional factors such as weight of paper would also be considered as they may affect postage projections provided above by creating a heavier package.

An estimate of $530 has been determined for the mail ballot instructional insert development cost and materials if completed by City Staff. This cost could be higher if outsourced to a consultant.

Clearly marking each envelope and providing adequate room for voters to write on the certification envelope is needed. Use of labels will improve accessibility and ensure a consistent look for each package. Labels also reduce staff time spent preparing packages.

Labeling costs could run between $500-$700.

TOTAL: $3,756.86 - $5,590.72

NOTE: These estimates do not factor in the reallocation of staff time or ballot costs.

The 2026 Local General Election budget has been determined at $135,000. As costs of rentals and supplies continue to rise, the addition of mail ballots may require a budget increase in the future in order to provide the service. Should the use of mail ballots continue, this expense will need to be added to the budgeting during every election and/or assent voting event.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS:

Pursuant to Section 110 of the Local Government Act, a local government may, by bylaw, permit voting to be done by mail ballot, and outlines the requirements for such voting to occur. The bylaw may establish procedures for voting and registration that differ from those established under other provisions of Part 3 of the Act and authorize the Chief Election Officer to establish time limits in relation to voting by mail ballot.

STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:

5 – Good Governance.

OPTIONS:

Option 1

THAT Council receive the March 30, 2026, report titled “Mail Ballot Information” from the Director of Legislative and Protective Services for information.

OR

Option 2

THAT Council direct staff to amend Election Bylaw No. 1819 to include mail ballots as an option for voting in the election and direct that the election budget be increased by $15,000 as part of the consideration of the 2026-2030 Financial Plan.

SUBMITTED BY: Marie Watmough, Director of Legislative and Protective Services

Concurrence: Melisa Miles, Manager of Legislative Services
Concurrence: Donna Petrie, Senior Manager of Communications & Economic Development
Concurrence: Yari Nielsen, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities
Concurrence: Leah Stohmann, RPP, MCIP, Director of Community Planning and Development
Concurrence: Katelyn Balzer, P.Eng., Director of Engineering and Public Works
Concurrence: Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance
Concurrence: Braden Hutchins, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
Concurrence: Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer

Attachments:
Attachment 1: Mail Ballot Timeline Calendar