[
    {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "does%20the%20ontario%20Elections%20Act%20require%20a%20blind%20voter%20to%20take%20any%20kind%20of%20oath%20that%20they%20are%20blind%20before%20they%20have%20another%20person%20mark%20their%20ballot%20for%20them%3F%20what%20does%20the%20provision%20say%3F%20if%20not%2C%20was%20that%20earlier%20required%20in%20Ontario%20elections%3F"
    },
    {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Here\u2019s a clear breakdown of what Ontario\u2019s Elections Act requires \u2014 now and historically \u2014 with respect to blind or disabled electors having another person mark their ballot:\n\n---\n\n## Current Law in Ontario\n\nUnder **section 55** of the Ontario Elections Act, there *is* a requirement for an elector who cannot vote alone (for example, because of blindness or another disability) to take an oath (or an affirmation) *if* they wish to have assistance from a *friend* to mark their ballot. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\nHere\u2019s how the relevant subsections read currently:\n\n- **Subsection 55(1)**: If an elector is unable to read or has a disability preventing them from voting in the normal way, they may ask for assistance. But if they want that assistance, they must *make an oath or affirmation* that they cannot vote without it. After doing so, the deputy returning officer may assist them by marking their ballot in the manner directed by that elector, with only the poll clerk also present. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))  \n- **Subsection 55(2)**: A friend can be permitted to accompany them to the voting screen and mark the ballot, *only if* the elector has taken the prescribed oath or affirmation; otherwise, only the deputy returning officer can assist. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v24?utm_source=openai))\n\nThus: **yes**, there is currently a legal requirement that a blind or otherwise disabled elector take an oath (or affirmation) about their inability to vote without assistance *before* a friend can mark their ballot. If no oath is taken, then only election staff (the deputy returning officer) may assist. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\n## Historical Background: Has It Always Been This Way?\n\nYes \u2014 this requirement has existed under earlier versions of Ontario law as well. Under previous iterations of the same section (or equivalent sections), disabled or illiterate voters were required to take an oath or affirmation before being assisted in voting. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\nFor example:\n\n- The **1990 version** of the Act already included section 55, requiring an oath by an elector who cannot vote without assistance. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))  \n- That wording has carried forward through subsequent amendments, although other changes (such as those concerning accessibility and alternative voting methods) have been added. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v24?utm_source=openai))\n\nSo, historically, **yes**, Ontario has long required a disabled elector to swear or affirm their inability to vote without assistance if they want that assistance, particularly from a non-officer/friend.\n\n---\n\n## Summary and Practical Impact\n\n- If a blind or otherwise disabled elector wants a *friend* (or non-election-officer) to mark their ballot for them, Ontario law mandates the elector first take an oath or affirmation that they cannot vote without assistance.  \n- If the elector does **not** take the oath, only the deputy returning officer (or equivalent election official) can assist.  \n- This has been Ontario law for many years, not a recent addition.\n\n---\n\nIf you want, I can send you the exact wording of the oath or affirmation required (which is prescribed in regulations), or show you how these provisions compare to federal law in Canada. Do you want that?"
    },
    {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "give%20me%20the%20text%20of%20the%20relevant%20provision."
    },
    {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Here is the full text of **Section 55** (\u201cElectors with Disabilities / Disabled Elector\u201d) of the *Elections Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.6*, as currently in force in Ontario. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\n### Section 55 \u2014 Disabled Elector\n\n**55**  \n\n(1) On the application of any elector who is unable to read or who is disabled and thereby prevented from voting in accordance with the other provisions of this Act, the deputy returning officer may assist the elector to the voting screen or if the elector making the application takes an oath as to his or her inability to vote without assistance, shall thereafter assist the elector at the voting screen by marking his or her ballot in the manner directed by the elector in the presence of the poll clerk and of no other person, and place the ballot in the ballot box. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\n(2) The deputy returning officer shall either deal with an elector mentioned in subsection (1) in the manner provided therein or, at the request of such elector who has taken the prescribed oath or affirmation and is accompanied by a friend, shall permit the friend to accompany the elector to the voting screen and there mark the elector\u2019s ballot for him or her. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\n(3) Any friend who is permitted to mark the ballot of an elector under subsection (2) shall first be required to take an oath or affirmation that he or she will keep secret the name of the candidate for whom the ballot was marked. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v8?utm_source=openai))\n\n(4) No person shall be allowed to act as the friend of more than one elector mentioned in subsection (1) at any polling place, other than a polling place established under section 14. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v26?utm_source=openai))\n\n(5) The deputy returning officer shall enter in the poll record opposite the elector\u2019s name the reason why the ballot was marked by the deputy returning officer or by a friend of the elector. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v24?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\nIf you like, I can also pull up the text of what the \u201coath or affirmation\u201d specifically says, as prescribed in the regulations."
    },
    {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "yes%20please"
    },
    {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "I was unable to locate a statute or regulation that provides the *exact text of the prescribed oath or affirmation* required of an elector or their friend under Section 55 of the Ontario Elections Act. The Act refers to a \u201cprescribed oath or affirmation\u201d to verify that the elector \u201ccannot vote without assistance\u201d and, in the case of a friend, that they \u201cwill keep secret the name of the candidate for whom the ballot was marked.\u201d ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v21?utm_source=openai))\n\nHere\u2019s a summary of what we *do* know:\n\n---\n\n## What Section 55 of the Elections Act Specifies\n\n- Subsection 55(1) requires an elector who can\u2019t vote without assistance to \u201ctake an oath as to his or her inability to vote without assistance\u201d before being assisted by a deputy returning officer or, if accompanied by a friend, by that friend. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v21?utm_source=openai))  \n- Subsection 55(2) permits another person (a \u201cfriend\u201d) to mark the elector\u2019s ballot *only if* the elector has taken that oath and is accompanied by the friend. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v21?utm_source=openai))  \n- Subsection 55(3) requires the friend to take an oath or affirmation \u201cthat he or she will keep secret the name of the candidate for whom the ballot was marked.\u201d ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v21?utm_source=openai))  \n\n---\n\n## What \u201cPrescribed Oath or Affirmation\u201d Means\n\n- The Act doesn\u2019t contain the full text (i.e. the wording) of the oath or affirmation.\n- The term \u201cprescribed\u201d means the oath is set out elsewhere\u2014likely in **regulations** or **forms issued by Elections Ontario**, but I did not find a provision or regulation online that publishes the verbatim form.  \n- The Elections Act does include **\u201cOaths, Affirmations and Statutory Declarations, Who May Take\u201d** in section 3, which establishes who may administer oaths, affirmations, or declarations for purposes of the Act. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v37?utm_source=openai))  \n\n---\n\nIf you like, I could try to locate the specific regulation or Elections Ontario document that publishes the exact text (form) of the oath. Would you prefer me to search for that?"
    },
    {
        "role": "user",
        "content": "under%20the%20ontario%20Elections%20Act%20is%20the%20Chief%20Electoral%20Officer%20required%20to%20file%20a%20distinct%20report%20with%20the%20Leiglsature%20after%20each%20election%20on%20the%20%2Caccessibilityof%20the%20eleciton%20to%20voters%20with%20disabilities.%20I%20don%27t%20mean%20the%20indidivual%20accessibility%20reports%20that%20each%20Returning%20Officer%20must%20create%20after%20each%20election."
    },
    {
        "role": "assistant",
        "content": "Yes \u2014 under the Ontario *Elections Act*, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) is required to prepare a report after *each election* that includes accessibility issues, including how services were provided to persons with disabilities. However, this report need not be a *stand-alone* report solely focused on accessibility; it is incorporated into the election report or the CEO\u2019s next annual report. Below are the key provisions and details:\n\n---\n\n## Legal Provisions\n\n- **Section 67.2** of the Elections Act mandates that **after every election**, the CEO must prepare a report that includes:\n\n  - A summary of feedback received regarding how services were provided to persons with disabilities under the Act, in line with the *Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005* (AODA), and any steps taken in response to that feedback. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v28?utm_source=openai))  \n  - A summary of every report submitted by returning officers under section 55.1, which are reports from each electoral district on accessibility measures taken. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v28?utm_source=openai))  \n  - (For general elections only) the findings of a survey conducted under section 67.1. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v30?utm_source=openai))  \n\n- **Section 67.2(2)** requires that these findings **be included** in either:\n\n  - The election report the CEO produces, or  \n  - The CEO\u2019s next annual report (whichever comes first). ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v30?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\n## Interpretation: Is It a \u201cDistinct\u201d Report?\n\n- The legislation does **not** require that the accessibility information be submitted in a separate, stand-alone document specifically focused on accessibility.\n\n- Instead, it must be part of the overall reporting that the CEO prepares on each election and/or in an annual report. In practice, this means accessibility content is embedded within broader reports.\n\n- Elections Ontario\u2019s Post-Event Report is an example. For instance, after the 2014 and 2018 general elections, these reports included appendices or sections dedicated to accessibility, summarizing measures, feedback, and returning officers\u2019 reports as required by section 67.2. ([scribd.com](https://www.scribd.com/document/258274506/June-12-2014-Post-Event-Report-Ready-Set-Go-Managing-Ontario-s-41st-General-Election?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\n## Summary\n\n- **Yes**, the CEO *is* required by law to report after every election on accessibility issues affecting voters with disabilities.\n\n- **No**, there is *no legal requirement* for a separate, standalone accessibility-only report; the content must simply be included in the election report or in the next annual report under section 114.3. ([ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06/v28?utm_source=openai))\n\n---\n\nIf you want, I can pull up the exact text of Section 67.2 (and related sections) so you can see the statutory wording. Do you want that?"
    }
]