OTTAWA—The Conservatives are backing down on some of the more contentious aspects of their proposed electoral reform bill after months of blistering criticism that said Bill C-23 is undemocratic and could disenfranchise thousands.

Democratic Reform minister Pierre Poilievre revealed Friday the government will support amendments to Bill C-23, the legislation he has vigorously defended in the face of near universal opposition.

Most of that opposition focused on the elimination of vouching, where one voter with proper identification could vouch for the identity of another at the polling station. Elections Canada estimated as many as 120,000 Canadians could be turned away at the polls as a result.

Poilievre said that while voters will still require some form of documentation to prove their identity, they will be able to have someone vouch for their address.

“The government will not support amendments to allow voting without a piece of identity,” Poilievre said in a press conference on Parliament Hill.

“(But) if someone’s ID does not have an address on it, they will have to sign a written oath of residence. Another voter with fully proven ID will need to co-sign attesting to that voter’s address.”

The amendment allows for some flexibility for voters who have a hard time proving where they live, including students, aboriginal voters, seniors and the poor. But it also gives the government a paper trail to ensure the system is not abused, and would require an external audit after each election to ensure the system retains its integrity.

Another key concession makes explicit that the chief electoral officer can communicate freely with the Canadian public. In the original draft, Bill C-23 restricted the CEO to communicating only where, when and how to vote, raising concerns of an attempt to muzzle the independent agency.

Elections Canada advertising would still be limited to the nuts and bolts of the voting process, but the agency could continue to fund third-party education campaigns with elementary and secondary school students.

The Conservatives will also scrap a proposed loophole that would allow parties to spend unlimited amounts soliciting donations from previous supporters during an election campaign. NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair has warned the measure is a way for parties to get around Canada’s hard spending cap in election campaigns. Others, including Conservative Senator Linda Frum, have argued the provision would tip the scales in the Conservatives’ favour.

Poilievre downplayed the concerns on Friday, calling the proposal “not particularly important.” Nevertheless, the government agreed to abandon it.

The New Democrats, who devoted significant time and energy opposing the bill, heralded the amendment as a victory Friday. But MP Craig Scott (Toronto-Danforth), the NDP’s democratic reform critic, said the party will still be bringing forward more recommendations.

“It’s not enough. There are so many other problems with the bill that we’re going to be asking the Conservatives in the committee to be considering other amendments,” Scott said.

“(But) it’s very rare in the history of majority governments to have such a complete about-face, especially when the government starts out as saying this bill is perfect.”

The opposition will propose a number of amendments, including:

The continued use of voter information cards, mailed by Elections Canada to voters, as proof of address. The Conservatives have referenced a number of anecdotal evidence that the VIC system is flawed, however, and are unlikely to accept their continued use.

Ensuring the system does not discriminate against independent candidates, who face a different set of fundraising rules than candidates for recognized parties.

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Removing political appointments of Election Day workers at polls entirely.

Encouraging Elections Canada to continue their work on administrative reforms of the electoral system, moving closer to a much-praised system pioneered in New Brunswick.

It’s not clear how many — if any — of those amendments the government will support. House of Commons and Senate committees resume their study of Bill C-23 next week.