I just checked the news, and it appears that “voting” is a hot topic right now.
A question then occurred to me: Can an attorney under a Power of Attorney vote in a public election on the grantor’s behalf?
Under Ontario’s Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, s. 7(2), a power of attorney may authorize a person “to do on the grantor’s behalf anything in respect of property that the grantor could do if capable, except make a will.” Under s. 46(1), a person may give a written power of attorney for personal care, authorizing the person or persons named as attorneys to make, on the grantor’s behalf, decisions concerning the grantor’s personal care.
However, voting in a public election is considered to be an act that is personal in nature to the individual and not something that can be done by an attorney under a power of attorney.
(Not all voting by an attorney is prohibited: An attorney may have the ability to vote in the place of the grantor in a corporate context.)
According to the website “Probate Stars”, in most US states, voting by attorney is not allowed. In some states, for example, Florida and Arizona (gotta love Arizona), legislation expressly prohibits an attorney from voting on behalf of the grantor.
In other states, voting by attorney is presumed to be not allowed, as voting is considered to be an act that is “personal” in nature, and cannot be delegated. Quoting from a Tennessee appeals court decision of Rich Printing Co. v. Estate of McKeller (citation not given):
It is axiomatic that an agency may be created for any lawful act and that whatever a person may lawfully do, if acting in his own right and in his own behalf, he may delegate that authority to an agent. It is also axiomatic that authority cannot be lawfully delegated which is illegal, immoral or opposed to public policy, nor can one delegate an act which is personal in its nature, such as designating an agency to perform a personal duty or a personal trust. Of course an elected officer cannot delegate one to hold the office to which he has been elected in the absence of statutory authority so to do, nor to cast his vote for him.
In Ontario, it would appear that this reasoning applies as well.
Even though an attorney cannot vote for the grantor, it may be possible for the grantor to authorize someone to vote on their behalf through a proxy in limited circumstances. For example, there is a reference to proxy voting in the “Voter’s Guide for Ontario Municipal and School Board By-elections 2016-2018”. The Guide confirms that an attorney cannot vote on behalf of the elector, but a properly appointed proxy can.
Thank you for reading.