As you prepare to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, New Brunswick chief electoral officer Kim Poffenroth is demanding action on privacy legislation to protect your personal information.

The urgent request follows a massive data breach in Alberta where a separatist group published millions of voter records online. The leaked data included names, phone numbers and home addresses.

The Threat to Your Data

According to a recent report from Global News, Poffenroth assures the public that information held directly by Elections New Brunswick remains completely secure. The vulnerability lies with the candidates. Anyone running in a municipal or provincial election receives a copy of the voters list for their specific area.

“There are rules in legislation but there is not the same kind of robust regime in information privacy that government and Elections New Brunswick have to comply with,” Poffenroth told Global News.

She is now calling on Premier Susan Holt and her government to implement stricter rules governing how candidates handle and store your data.

Political Leaders Respond

The push for better privacy protections is finding support among provincial leaders. Green Party Leader David Coon announced plans to introduce a bill designed to safeguard voter information. Coon noted that previous governments ignored these glaring issues with election legislation.

Official Opposition Leader Glen Savoie also acknowledged the severity of the situation. He stated that the electoral system must always defend itself against misuse.

Local Governance Minister Aaron Kennedy declined to comment on the matter and directed inquiries to the Office of the Ombud for New Brunswick. The Ombud office also did not respond to requests for an interview.

A Known Problem

This is not the first time Elections New Brunswick identified these vulnerabilities. A report on electoral data privacy highlighted outdated laws in the province. The report recommended removing the information of vulnerable voters from distributed lists and forcing political parties to submit clear privacy policies before receiving any data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my voter information safe with Elections New Brunswick?

Yes. The chief electoral officer confirms that data stored directly with Elections New Brunswick is secure. The current concern focuses on the copies of voter lists given to political candidates.

What happened in the Alberta data leak?

A separatist group in Alberta obtained a legitimate copy of the provincial electors list and published the names, phone numbers and addresses of nearly three million people online.

What changes is Elections New Brunswick asking for?

The agency wants the provincial government to update privacy laws. They recommend requiring political parties to provide privacy policies and removing vulnerable individuals from the lists shared with candidates.