Nova Scotia Register of Electors, Voters List
Elections Nova Scotia uses the Register of Electors to maintain the information required to carry out its legislated mandate only.
The Register of Electors includes the name, date of birth, sex, civic address, mailing information and whether the elector voted in the latest election. The elector's civic address determines the electoral district and polling division in which they reside and the polling location where they vote.
The Act specifies that every registered elector may be a resident of only one place at a time. This provision now also applies to university and college students who have the choice to register themselves as either residing at their family home or at a residence while attending an educational institution at the date of the writ. This ensures an accurate list of electors and one vote per person at the electoral district of their choice.
Privacy and Security of Information
Provisions for safeguarding the privacy of the information in the Register have been strengthened in the Elections Act. The Act specifies the information that may be disclosed by the Chief Electoral Officer to municipalities and school boards for their electoral purposes and that it may be shared with Elections Canada. It also limits the information that may be disclosed to registered parties, independent members of the House of Assembly and candidates during an election. All such information must be used only for electoral purposes and it is an offence to use the information for other purposes.
To protect the personal information of electors, the Act obliges school boards and candidates to destroy all lists of electors received during an election and any copies of the list of electors provided to others by or on their behalf within ten days of the close of the polls on election day. Similarly, municipalities must confirm to the CEO that all the elector information provided by the municipality to others, including a candidate nominated at a municipal election, has been used only for election administration purposes.