Procedure and House Affairs committee  Perhaps I could start this round. Whether we have the right number of type two documents is a never-ending question. In British Columbia we don't specifically identify all of the identification documents that are acceptable. We have categories of documents that are acceptable, and it's at the determination of the Chief Electoral Officer whether a document would be approved or not.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I believe vouching is a very important provision within our system. I would be surprised if the 14,000 people who were vouched for in British Columbia in the 2013 general election had identity documents on their person that would have enabled them to vote. I just don't think it was the case.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  On the question of whether election agencies currently provide that information, my sense is it was a key feature of virtually all the advertising we did in British Columbia, the where and the how and the when of voting. Adding to that basic information, we also were a bit more active in this last election campaign in focusing the message on parts of the electorate that historically are less likely to vote.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  In British Columbia, the vouching provision was used more in our most northern electoral district, the district of Stikine, than in any other electoral district. We certainly don't have the numbers that David is talking about, but about 3.5% of all voters in Stikine were vouched for, and in some of the urban districts, it would be less than one-half of 1%.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  If I have time to expand on this answer a little, the broader question is—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Given that a large number of items are type two identity documents, if you have somebody else's type two identity document, are you able to use that and vote fraudulently? The answer is you do so at great risk to yourself, and there is a very good likelihood that you're not going to be successful, whether it's with your voter information card or whether it's with the library card that you happen to find in the lobby of your condo building as well.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. Let me give you a couple of examples of recent spending that our office was involved in to illustrate how I understand the relationship between the office and the legislative assembly and/or government with respect to spending initiatives. I mentioned in my comments that we sponsored a conference on a 2013 provincial election, and we did it with the University of British Columbia.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sure. In the recent election in British Columbia, we focused a lot of our attention on trying to convey a set of key messages to our electors. First, the message was where, when, and how to vote. The second message was that voting is your right as a citizen and we make significant opportunities available to you as a voter.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I thank the chair and members of this committee for inviting me here this afternoon. I'm Keith Archer, the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia, an appointment I have held since September 2011. Prior to this appointment, I was a professor of political science at the University of Calgary for 27 years.