New Brunswick’s chief electoral officer is calling for stronger protection of voter information.
Kim Poffenroth said electoral data handling practices are outdated and need to be strengthened.
“We have policies and procedures in place to protect the privacy of elector data when it is in our possession,” said Poffenroth.
“However, once we provide the information to registered political parties, candidates and members of the legislative assembly, as required by legislation, there is no authority requiring them to have safeguards in place to protect that data.”
Poffenroth tabled a new report with the legislature last week titled Electoral Data Privacy: A Discussion Document.
It contains more than a dozen recommendations aimed at better aligning New Brunswick’s practices for safeguarding election data with rules that exist in other Canadian jurisdictions.
These include creating a legal distinction between the information collected and what must be shared, as well as requirements for political parties to develop privacy policies that would be subject to approval by the chief electoral officer.
“The effective administration of elections requires substantial data collection and sharing. “I believe there is a high public expectation that strong measures must be in place regulating how that information is used,” added Poffenroth.
Ten of the 15 recommendations would require legislative changes to implement, while the remaining five would involve policy and procedural changes.
