{"id":5918,"date":"2025-11-05T10:28:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/?p=5918"},"modified":"2025-11-05T10:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:30:18","slug":"the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/","title":{"rendered":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Over the past few weeks, my electoral journey has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.electionsquebec.qc.ca\/voter\/pouvez-vous-voter\/\">Elections Quebec<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quebec.ca\/gouvernement\/ministeres-organismes\/affaires-municipales\">MAMH<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/10\/25\/statement-from-the-north-hatley-election-president-regarding-the-voting\/\">election president<\/a>, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/10\/26\/the-north-hatley-electoral-list-review-committee-composed-of-municipal-employees\/\">revision board<\/a>. Here is what I have learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00c9lections Qu\u00e9bec, the municipal electoral list review commission exercises quasi-judicial powers: it rules on requests that affect rights (registration, removal) according to a formal procedure, without being a court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In North Hatley, as elsewhere, the organization is under the authority of the chief administrative officer, and the commission is composed of municipal employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>During the review period<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your application is refused or if you are struck off, your only recourse is to apply to a judge of the Tribunal du Qu\u00e9bec within four days of the decision.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In practice, this recourse involves tight deadlines, legal formalities, and significant costs, making it possible but often demanding.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>After the vote<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The commission&#8217;s decision can no longer be challenged.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There remains the election challenge, a separate appeal in which it must be demonstrated that the irregularity could have influenced the result.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Respective competencies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Following discussions with the DGEQ (\u00c9lections Qu\u00e9bec), it has been determined that it cannot overturn the decisions of the review boards; only a court of law can do so.<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A complex framework<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca\/fr\/document\/lc\/e-2.2\">LERM (Act respecting elections and referendums in municipalities)<\/a> is technical and detailed. This complexity raises questions about the training and mastery of the LERM by commission members; it would be desirable for these elements to be known and documented (training profile, internal procedures, management of conflicts of interest).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given that removal from the electoral list directly affects the exercise of the right to vote, it is essential that commission members be adequately trained and that they apply clear procedures (evidence, hearing, reasoned decision).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key points to remember<\/strong><br>The review commission has quasi-judicial powers + citizens have limited and rapid recourse = risk of imbalance in the effectiveness of the population&#8217;s right to vote.<br><br><em><strong>This text is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific cases, consult a lawyer.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the past few weeks, my electoral journey has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the election president, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned. \u00c9lections Qu\u00e9bec, the municipal electoral list review commission exercises quasi-judicial powers: it rules on requests that affect rights [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5916,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-municipality-en","category-opinion-en-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The paradox of municipal electoral powers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The paradox of municipal electoral powers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North Hatley Info\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"809\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philippe Marchesseault\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philippe Marchesseault\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Philippe Marchesseault\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1\"},\"headline\":\"The paradox of municipal electoral powers\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":353,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Municipality\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/\",\"name\":\"The paradox of municipal electoral powers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1\"},\"description\":\"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":809},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/05\\\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The paradox of municipal electoral powers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/\",\"name\":\"North Hatley Info\",\"description\":\"Citizen news from North Hatley and area\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1\",\"name\":\"Philippe Marchesseault\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Philippe Marchesseault\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.northhatley.info\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/northhatley.info\\\/en\\\/author\\\/adminplogg\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers","description":"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers","og_description":"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.","og_url":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/","og_site_name":"North Hatley Info","article_published_time":"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":809,"url":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philippe Marchesseault","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philippe Marchesseault","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/"},"author":{"name":"Philippe Marchesseault","@id":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/#\/schema\/person\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1"},"headline":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers","datePublished":"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/"},"wordCount":353,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg","articleSection":["Municipality","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/","url":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/","name":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-05T15:28:10+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-05T15:30:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/#\/schema\/person\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1"},"description":"Over the past few weeks, my election campaign has allowed me to learn a great deal through discussions with lawyers, Elections Quebec, the MAMH, the returning officer, and the revision board. Here is what I have learned.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/citoyen-pris-au-piege-north-hatley.jpg","width":1500,"height":809},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/2025\/11\/05\/the-paradox-of-municipal-electoral-powers\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The paradox of municipal electoral powers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/","name":"North Hatley Info","description":"Citizen news from North Hatley and area","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.northhatley.info\/#\/schema\/person\/8a934d8f02e5928fb6323cfdf916b2c1","name":"Philippe Marchesseault","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a16ce255f224de9bfb1a60fce0f6817675ab96709d0d3848cfcd57e53c9f9a86?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Philippe Marchesseault"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.northhatley.info"],"url":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/author\/adminplogg\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5918"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5924,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5918\/revisions\/5924"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northhatley.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}