N.S. election report recommends axing voter requirement to report gender

The chief electoral officer of Elections Nova Scotia is recommending voters be given the opportunity of opting out of reporting their sex when applying to be added to the register of electors.

"In the weeks and months after a general election, part of the discussion was, 'Is that information actually necessary to vote?' And so the recommendation that the chief electoral officer has is that information isn't necessary," said Andy LeBlanc, director of policy and communications at Elections Nova Scotia.

The recommendation is one of 23 that were sent to the members of the house of assembly and announced this week.

Another recommendation is to allow members of the military who are serving outside the province to vote electronically.

Faster ballot counting

In its news release, Elections Nova Scotia said several of the recommendations are aimed at streamlining and improving the "integrity of the voting process, managing costs and expediting the counting of ballots on election night to avoid repeating the late reporting of results."

Nineteen out of the 23 recommendations, according to Elections Nova Scotia, have received unanimous support from the members of the election commission, who represent the three parties with members sitting in the assembly.

Four of the recommendations are supported by the majority of parties represented in the commission, according to Elections Nova Scotia.