Election Procedures

This page should be a by-product of our 2018 Election Campaign Postmortem. It is intended to describe the processes for developing the platform, creating a budget, deciding on the content of the CRM election record, identifying potential candidates, assigning them to ridings, collecting signatures, getting candidates Nominated, distributing campaign materials to candidates, tracking expenses and transfers to campaigns, evaluating and recording candidate performance, determining inventory of campaign materials at the end of the campaign, and other relevant items.

For the 2014 General Election, Jeff McLarty, the Campaign Director at the time, prepared a number of documents on campaign strategy and processes on this Wiki. Search 'campaign' and review his work.

Developing the Platform

The Caucus (all candidates who most recently ran in a riding) must approve the platform. For the 2014 General Election a small number of members drafted the platform after the Executive agreed on the issues to be included. It was then approved by an email vote of the Caucus.

It might be a good idea to publish the draft in Bulletin (and Facebook Members Only Group?) and invite feedback from members before putting it to a Caucus vote.

This process should begin 12-18 months before the next scheduled general election.

--Jim McIntosh 21:57, 10 September 2018 (EDT)

Creating a Budget

The Executive should provide guidance to the Campaign Director regarding thinkgs like types of advertising, the level of support we will provide to the various types of candidates (Active, public profile, name only); number of signs, platforms, business cards, sign permits.

2018 General Election

The following is a summary of the expenses incurred by the Party for the June 7, 2018 general election.

Item	Expenses	Comments
Radio Advertising	$14,934	Niagara, Kitchener, Barrie, London, Hamilton, Ottawa
Facebook Advertising	$1,514
Nomination Support Teams	$7,507	Collect signatures in ?? Ridings
Signs	$7,729	2,000 bag signs
Platforms	$2,748	25,000 Platforms
Business Cards	$465	19 Candidates
Office supplies, postage	&909	For Nomination Forms
Transfers to Candidates	Note	Campaign Materials purchased by Party
Other?	$772	Deliver signs to Woodstock and Guelph, and??
TOTAL	$36,578

NOTE: If the Party pays for signs or brochures which promote the candidate, such expenses must be 'transferred' to the candidate's campaign. They are normally covered by donations from candidate and/or supporters.

Signs

Samples from 2018 General Election

Generic signs for the June 7, 2018 General Election.

Generic sign with a name sticker supplied by Xposure Signs &Graphics, 103382 Hwy 7 East, Marmora, ON, K0K 2M0, $60 + HST for 60 stickers

We produced 2,000 of these generic signs for the June 7, 2018 General Election. Scott Marshall designed it. They were produced by Sign O City in Vaughan at a cost of $7,729.20. Mark Wrzeniewski picked up 1,750 and stored them in his "barn" and Allen Small picked up 250, to distribute to candidates.

Do we want a record of which candidates got how many signs, and how many they had after the election?

Comment on Facebook by Peter d'Entrement - "Our signs are too wide based on the stands we have. You can only push one side so far down and usually have a bank making it difficult to have a straight sign. Jack McLaren used signs half as wide and bigger one with iron and wood legs pounded in. Just an experience thing we should keep in mind."

Some other comments:

• Adam Senour - I've also noticed that the metal pins are a bit thin and they tend to collapse inward when driven down into the ground. Granted, I only did two signs, but it may be an issue going forward.
• Jim McIntosh - (planted signs for Marsha Haynes in Ajax) The ground beside the road was often like concrete. I had to poke around to find someplace I could force the pins into the ground.
• Joe Henhawke - I've found that the molded seam is too weak but it's a beautiful sign none the less.
• Brendan Thomas Reilly - The signs I've put out in my area have held up quite well, but yes putting them in the ground is difficult.
• Jeff Harris - If I run again, I’ll just buy new signs. Not worth storing them for what they cost. (100 custom signs for $593) However, in the future, I’m not so sure that I would even bother with signs. I think I’d rather spend money on radio ads.
• A few other comments were favourable towards the generic signs.

Deciding On the Content of the CRM Election Record

The Ontario 42nd General Election CRM Record was used to keep track of who was a potential candidate in each Electoral District, who was assigned to the ED, and to track their progress through the nomination process. Rob Brooks created a Road to 2018 - Nominations by Riding Dashboard from these records. Jim McIntosh, CFO for most of the candidates, used it to extract the information needed for the F0400 Nomination Forms into a spreadsheet.

This is the content of the Ontario 42nd General Election -

Could Be A Candidate	Yes or No
Ridings - 122	Numeric ID for Electoral District, 001 to 124, or 999 for “Riding not specified” or 777 for “Preferred riding assigned”
Riding Type	Type A – lives in riding, Type B – lives near riding, or Type C – does not live near riding
Type of Participation	Active Campaign, Public Profile, or Name Only
Was 2014 Candidate	Yes or No
Candidate Accepted	Blank until assigned to a riding, Yes when assigned to a riding, No if replaced
Draft F0400 emailed to Candidate	Date emailed
Address Verified by CFO	Yes when candidate replies or No/blank
Nomination package sent to candidate	Date mailed
F0400 & Party App signed and submitted to CFO	Yes when received or No/blank
Date received by CFO	Date
F0400 submitted to EO HQ	Yes or No
F0400 Submitted to Local RO	Yes or No
Date submitted to EO or RO	Date
Nomination Approved	Yes or No
Date Nomination Approved	Date
Candidate Notes	Home riding if not Type A, NST (if help required for signatures), history of changes, etc.

 

Identifying and Recruiting Potential Candidates

1. Identify 'Candidate Recruiters' and decide how to allocate EDs and Members.
2. Consider creating a CRM record (43rd General Election) for each potential candidate that can be used by Recruiters to maintain the status, rather than a separate spread sheet as was done in 2018.
   1. Recruiters should be able to search for all of their prospective candidates or EDs.
   2. The CRM listing should have links to the member's record and to the 43rd General Election record so the Recruiter can quickly make updates as required.
3. Start with the list of candidates from the two previous general elections and any by-elections in the past 5-8 years.
4. Add members who indicated they are interested in being a candidate.
5. "Tag" all of the above as "Potential Candidates." (First clear all names already tagged. This may require creating a Profile to remove tags.)

There is probably no point in starting to recruit candidates more than a year before the Polling date.

1. Any such members with Membership End Dates prior to the scheduled Election Date should be asked to renew their membership. This could be part of the Recruiting process. A member should not be assigned to an ED if their membership expires before the election.
2. Use the "Candidate Dashboard" process created for the 2018 Election.
3. Recruit previous "Type A" candidates to run in the same riding again. If they don't want to run an Active campaign,
   1. Ask if they would help another member to do so (if there is one or more potential candidates in the same riding).
   2. Ask if they would run in an adjacent riding, or as a Type C, Name only candidate.
   3. Recruit a Prospective Candidate in the same ED or an adjacent ED.
4. After all Previous Type A candidates have been recruited, recruit previous Type B candidates as above.

where they are the only one in a vacant riding.

Assigning Candidates to Ridings

Notes from June 11/18 Meeting.

• We need to keep as many of our 2018 candidates (and wannabe candidates) as possible. It is important to keep them continuously "engaged" with the Party. Many suggestions were discussed, including letters/emails to all candidates, establishing "shadow cabinets", determining where candidate expertise and/or interests can best be put to use.
• Better vetting of candidates (including security via the Ethics Committee or a security committee) is required to avoid embarrassing and unhelpful experiences (vis Paul Layton).

--Jim McIntosh 17:21, 2 August 2018 (EDT) Not sure how we vet members. Most of them will be strangers to all but a few members. Should we ask for a referral from another member? Should we require they provide a resume or profile for the vetting committee to evaluate? Could we have found out about Paul's sexual harassment by searching Facebook?

Given few potential candidates are likely to collect signatures in the fall for an election the following June, we should not start assigning candidates to ridings before February. We should follow up 3-4 weeks later, and periodically until we get their signatures.

Phase 1 - Ridings with only one potential candidate should be assigned first (Type A).

Phase 2 - If a riding has more than one potential candidate, and one of them ran in the riding previously, that person should be assigned. Otherwise the decision is up to the Leader who should have defined criteria for the preferred candidate. The Leader could organize a meeting or an UberConference with the potential candidates where each explains why he or she should be the local candidate. The preferred candidate should be willing to be active, collect his own signatures, attend All Candidate Meetings, canvas the riding, accept media interviews, be a good speaker, etc (Type A, Active). If there are adjacent ridings with no potential candidates, determine if any are willing to be candidates there (Type B).

Phase 3 - If a riding has no potential candidates, look for one in an adjacent riding with multiple potential candidates (Type B).

Phase 4 - From the list of unassigned potential candidates, find the closest one willing to be a "Name Only" or "Profile" candidate (Type C).

Once a member has been assigned to a riding as a candidate, -

• Update the candidate's 43rd General Election record on CRM to indicate the candidate has been assigned and to which riding.
• Create a Candidate Profile record on the web site for the candidate with at least the candidate's phone # and email ID.
• Email a draft Nomination form (F0400) to the candidate for review and to advise if it is correct or requires changes. Follow up if the potential candidate does not reply within a week. If we are in Phase 3, determine if someone else should be assigned to the riding.

We may want to assign someone to prepare Candidate Profiles by phoning and interviewing candidates.

Collecting Signatures

Once a potential candidate has confirmed that the information on the draft Nomination Form is correct, print the two pages of the F0400 (Part D - Candidate's Declaration and Declaration of Electors), and mail to the potential candidate along with a cover letter and a stamped return envelope. If this is a Type A or Type B candidate, include tips for collecting signatures, two name tags and a stamped return envelope. (It's a good idea to update the tips with any recommendations from candidates after the election.) If the F0400 pages are not returned within 3-4 weeks, follow up with the candidate. If they are having trouble or can't get started, offer to find them some help.

Paid Canvassers?

--Jim McIntosh 16:35, 6 February 2019 (EST)
As I recall, during the 2014 election Paolo Fabrizio talked to some seniors who were being paid by one of the parties to either distribute literature, or to knock on doors (I don’t recall which). He also suggested we use an employment agency with offices in the northern EDs to collect signatures.

If we decide to pay anyone to collect signatures, we need to think about those who do so voluntarily, who don’t expect to be paid but might not think it’s right to pay others. A solution is to actually pay (or at least offer to) all who collect signatures and suggest they contribute some or all of it to the Party. We could make travel expenses reimbursable in cash or as In Kind donations.

In 2016 the USLP advertised for petitioners to collect signatures in CT, DC, NH and NY. The ad for DC was offering $3 per signature and reported one petitioner made $1,000 in a weekend. 30 signatures @ $3 would be $90 for a riding. The petitioner was expected to pay their own expenses.

Determining Inventory of Campaign Materials at the End of the Campaign

• A plan is required to review location of signs at the end of 2018 campaign. Coordinate with candidates who are planning to run again in 4 years, in order to minimize 2022 redistribution expenses, while maximizing retention of investment in sign costs. Establish 1 or more central depository locations for non returning candidates (perhaps using the 2018 AGM meeting as a collection point).
• need to determine where signs will be stored until the next election.

Other Relevant Items

Preparing CR-1 - Candidate Campaign Period Financial Statements

These notes were prepared by Jim McIntosh who was the CFO for all 116 Libertarian Candidates on the June 7, 2018 General Election, plus one who had to withdraw and one who resigned from the Party after the writ was issued.

Things to do better next time:

1. Include instructions on the Candidate Application recommending that the candidate keep a travel log (date, destination, purpose, kilometres) if they expect to be active. It will be treated as a donation in kind worth $0.50/Km.
2. Let the CFO know if they move during the campaign period. They must submit a Nomination Statement of Change (F0401) to Elections Ontario.

The spreadsheet used to prepare the Nomination Forms (F0400) was adapted to help prepare the CR-1 forms (Candidates 2018 post-election). Columns were added for Campaign Start Date, Votes received, Votes Cast, Line 1102 (5% of Votes Cast), In Kind Expenses, Transfers, Custom Signs Remaining, Generic Signs Remaining, and Platforms Remaining. This information was collected from the Candidates via email after polling day. However, the Votes Received and Votes Cast were obtained from the Unofficial Election Results from Elections Ontario. Hopefully the Official Results don't change. The offered version was a ZIP file with a separate Work book for each Electoral District, formatted to fill a page. On request, Elections Ontario provided a single spreadsheet (Unofficial Results for Each Candidate) with results for all candidates. It still requires manipulation to determine the vote total for each ED.

The Word Document CR-1 Merge uses the above spreadsheet to generate CR-1 forms for campaigns with no donations or expenses. These can be produces quickly since no customizing is required. It is likely that the following file will work for these candidates as well, as long as the "In Kind" and "Transfers" (and other) columns contain zero (0).

CR-1 Merge InKind was created as a variation of the above file to allow for Transfers from the Party to the candidate (expenses paid for by the Party for items specific to the candidate) and for expenditures made by the candidate on his or her campaign. It is best to generate the specific CR-1 as a new file before doing any customization (e.g. 001 Haynes CR-1). Print the candidates expenses to have the information required to complete the CR-1, as follows:

• Schedule 5: Transfers - Provide a description and the amounts paid by the Party for each category of expense;
• Schedule 6: Campaign Period Expenses - List any supplier who provided over $100 in goods or services;
• Schedule 7: Inventory and Prepaid Expenses - Provide the details for both campaign materials purchased before or during the campaign and campaign materials remaining after the campaign.
• Statement of Income and Expenses - Enter the amounts for each category of expense; Advertising, Brochures, Office Supplies (e.g. business cards), Signs, Web and Internet. The total expenses in the third column should equal the Total Income unless there is Inventory at the end of the campaign (Schedule 7, Line 703), which should be entered on Line 053 and Line 004 (Assets). Subtract the Total Expenses (column 3) from the Total Income to determine the Surplus or Deficit and enter on Line 051;
• Statement of Assets and Liabilities - Enter the amount from Line 703 at Line 004 and the amount from Line 054 at Line 010. Line 011 must be the same as Line 006.
• Schedule 11: Calculation of Candidate’s Campaign Expense Limit and Reimbursement Entitlement - Line 1104 has the amount from In Kind Expenses, however this may not be correct if it includes Travel expenses, or if the Transfer includes expenses subject to the limit. Use the amount from the first column on line 050.

Save a copy of the Word version of the CR-1 for the candidate in case it needs to be revised. Create a PDF version for submission to the Auditor and Elections Ontario. Print a copy for the archives and file with the printed copy of expenses.

Submitting Campaign Returns to the Auditor

Use Google Drive - to be elaborated.