How To Vote
Every year the party holds internal elections for our governing Provincial Executive (PE). The PE is responsible for the Green Party of Ontario’s governance, similar to a board of directors, and sets the strategic goals, annual plan and budget for the party.
The successful candidates will be announced during the 2023 Convention.
Voting Instructions
The GPO uses an online, secure company to run our elections – Simply Voting. Learn more at simplyvoting.com
Who can vote?
Current members of the GPO can vote for the Provincial Executive.
Not a member?
Ballots will be emailed to all current members with an active email on file.
Members without an active email on file will be mailed a paper ballot by postal mail. Mailed ballots must be received back at the Toronto office by September 20th 2023.
Members can vote for:
- Provincial positions available this year (ie. President, CFO)
- Regional representatives for the region they live in, if they are up for election this year
- Young Green Reps if they are 29 or under
How to vote?
There are three ways to cast your ballot this year (more details below):
- Online
- By mailing your ballot
- In person at the convention
Vote Online
Current members with an active email on file will receive an email from “vote@simplyvoting.com” on August 25th 2023, with instructions, a unique voting password, and a link to your online ballot.
Vote by Mail
If you are a current member without an email on file, you will receive your ballot by mail. Your ballot will include credentials to vote online, if you choose to do so. Mailed ballots must be received at the GPO office by 5pm September 20th, 2023.
How to send your ballot by mail
Please seal your ballot inside an envelope (if you’ve received your mailed ballot, an envelope will have been included; place your ballot in this envelope). Sign the front of this envelope and write your membership number above or below your signature. To request your membership number, please email pe_elections@gpo.ca.
There should be no other markings on this envelope. Insert this envelope into a second envelope addressed to:
Green Party of Ontario
PO Box 1132 Station F
Toronto, ON M4Y 2T8
Please ensure you include your return address on the second envelope. Your ballot needs to be received at the GPO office by 5pm September 20th, 2023.
Vote in Person
We’ll hold in person voting at the convention via paper ballot until 1pm on Saturday September 23rd, 2023.
How the ballots will be counted
Overview: Preferential voting for Provincial Executive elections
The GPO uses a preferential ballot for internal elections. When more than one candidate is listed, electors mark their ballots in a way that indicates their first, second, third, etc. choices regarding the outcome of a contested issue or the election of someone to a specified position.
The ballots are initially sorted according to each voter’s first choice. If a nominee is the first choice for more than 50% of the ballots cast, they are declared elected. If no one person receives more than 50% of the ballots cast, then the ballots for the nominee who received the fewest votes are redistributed according to the second choices marked on them. This process is repeated until one of the nominees has accumulated over 50% of all the ballots cast. This nominee will be declared elected.
If at any point in this process the option of “None of the Above” accumulates more than 50% of the ballots, all of the remaining unselected choices are declared “defeated.”
For multi-seat elections the winning threshold will be determined according to the Droop Quota of total votes cast. If there is no clear winner (i.e., greater than the threshold established by the Droop Quota), the votes of the least popular option for first choice are redistributed to the contestant ranked second on those particular ballots. This process of eliminating the lowest ranked option and redistributing to the next preference is repeated until a contestant reaches the winning threshold. The first contestant to reach the Droop Quota with the highest vote count is elected.
Once the first winner is declared, that person and any contestants of the same gender as the winner are withdrawn from the ballot. Votes are redistributed to the remaining contestants according to the voter’s next preferred option that is not yet elected or eliminated.
The second winner is declared elected once a contestant from the remaining options reaches the threshold established by the Droop Quota of the total remaining ballots.
Should there be a tie for the fewest number of first preference votes, then among these, the option with the fewest number of second preference votes shall be eliminated. Should a tie persist, the procedure shall continue with third preference votes, et cetera. Should a tie still persist, the option with the fewest number of original first preference votes, shall be eliminated. Should a tie still persist, the procedures shall continue with original second preference votes et cetera. Should a tie still persist, an option shall be eliminated by random draw.
Accepted vote markings
Where more than one candidate is listed, you can mark your ballot in a way that indicates your first, second, third, etc., choices.
You can abstain from any of the ballot questions.
Some notes on None of the Above (NOTA)
- NOTA is treated as a candidate
- You may rank NOTA as #1 if you do not want to vote for any of the candidates, or you may abstain from the ballot question
- If you do choose to rank candidates after NOTA, and NOTA does not “win” (receive 50%+1 of the votes), your vote will be redistributed to your next ranked candidates
The Provincial Executive Positions
The following positions are up for election at the 2023 convention:
- 1 President
- 1 Chief Financial Officer
- 2 Southwestern
- 2 Toronto
- 2 Eastern
- 2 Northern
- 2 Young Greens co-chairs
Provincial Executive (PE) Responsibilities
The PE has the power of the membership between General Meetings. It reports to the membership at each Annual General Meeting and is governed by the Constitution, Bylaws, Directives and other PE Policies. As the elected officials of the party the PE is responsible for making decisions regarding direction of the party. Some of their responsibilities include, but are not limited to, hiring staff, approval of spending and budgets, determining dates and locations of GPO General Meetings etc.
PE members are expected to attend monthly tele-conferences and in person meetings twice per year.
PE Duties
The Provincial Executive (“PE”) is the governance and operational board of the GPO. The PE is directly elected by the membership. Accountability is provided at Annual General Meetings and through elections. The PE is the highest decision making body between AGMs, as defined in the Constitution. The PE will set an annual plan and budget for the party.
The PE hires an Executive Director (“ED”) who leads the operational functions of the Party, and reports to the PE.
The Ombuds Committee is appointed by the PE, but operates independently and is responsible for hearing and investigating the appeals of members.
Other ad-hoc committees are created by the PE, especially Election Committees to handle the PE elections and a Leadership Contest Committee to oversee a Leadership Contest when called.
The Regional Reps have an organizational role on the Membership Team and governance role in the organization. They lead regional meetings when held.