New ID option for Manitoba First Nations voters

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This article was published 13/09/2023 (796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

First Nations members who have struggled to obtain traditional ID have a new option allowing them to vote in the upcoming Manitoba election.

The declaration of First Nations guarantor for proof of identity form — a collaborative effort between Elections Manitoba and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs — can replace the current identification requirements (one piece of government-issued ID or two documents including the voter’s name).

The voter fills out their personal information on the form, which must then be signed by a chief, council member or band membership clerk to verify their identity, before being presented in place of ID at a polling station.

AMC and Elections Manitoba were looking for ways to improve voter turnout and remove barriers to democratic process, Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said Wednesday.

“It’s hard enough for our people to get identification papers. And we realize as well that, for them to get a treaty card with their picture on it, it takes basically almost a year to get that,” she said.

“And our people don’t necessarily have the funds to get an ID through Vital Statistics. So all of this comes into play.”

Vouching is already an accepted election practice, wherein a voter with identification can swear an oath affirming one other voter’s identity. The new form (available on the Elections Manitoba website) will allow First Nations leadership to act as a vouching body for multiple people living in the community, if needed.

At the federal level, on-reserve voter turnout in 2019 was 40.6 per cent, 11.2 per cent below the Canada-wide percentage. Manitoba-wide turnout that year was 63.8 per cent.

A statement from Elections Manitoba chief executive officer Shipra Verma called the new system a chance to facilitate higher voter turnout numbers.

“Our collaboration with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs exemplifies our shared commitment to the principles of democracy and free and fair access to the electoral process,” she said.

“I encourage all of our citizens who are age 18 and over to come out and vote in this election.”–SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels

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On Thursday afternoon, AMC is holding a “rock the vote” rally at the Manitoba Legislative Building to encourage First Nations members to vote, followed by a forum at the downtown Winnipeg RBC Convention Centre, where political party leaders will be questioned on First Nations issues.

Meanwhile, the Southern Chiefs’ Organization called on its membership to commit to voting in the upcoming election.

“Our large population of First Nations citizens show we can have a significant influence on the electoral process. I encourage all of our citizens who are age 18 and over to come out and vote in this election,” Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said in a statement Wednesday.

SCO also called on those on the campaign trail to commit to a range of actions: addressing racism in health care, policing, and correctional systems; focusing on creating affordable housing; and searching Winnipeg landfills for the remains of Indigenous homicide victims.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.