Conservatives want U of G votes nullified (Canada)

[Mlle Antéchrist]

So, Elections Canada held an advanced polling station at several universities, including one at the University of Guelph. The Conservatives are now challenging that particular poll, claiming that there was partisan material present near the voting booth and the operation didn't follow legal guidelines laid out in the Election Act. Elections Canada denies both of these claims. This is the third election in which this particular station was ran, but the first time its been challenged.

According to several people, the communications director for the Conservative candidate showed up at the stations, insisting that it was illegal, and even appeared to attempt to grab the box of ballots at one point. The candidate in question hasn't made any official comments about this, nor has the director.

Now there's a sprouting controversy over whether the Cons are raising legitimate concerns, or are merely trying to gain an advantage in a riding where the Liberal candidate is ahead.

There aren't a ton of sites carrying the story yet, so these two will have to do:

www.guelphmercury.com/news/local/article/517010--conservatives-ask-elections-canada-to-nullify-votes-cast-at-u-of-g-wednesday

GUELPH — No votes cast Wednesday in a special ballot at the University of Guelph should stand, according to the Conservative Party of Canada.

The party wrote Elections Canada on Thursday to request that none of the votes collected during the U of G session be included in the final tally of votes in the Guelph riding. The letter was sent by lawyer Arthur Hamilton, of Toronto-based law firm, Cassels Brock.

In his letter, Hamilton alleges the polling station was illegal and also that partisan election material was present at it, which is a violation of the Canada Elections Act.

Elections Canada media advisor James Hale said this was the third election during which the University of Guelph held a special ballot on campus. And this is the first time it’s ever been challenged, Hale said.

“Part of our mandate is making the vote as accessible as possible. So, we look at outreach programs,” Hale said.

Several University of Guelph students claim Michael Sona, the communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, attempted to put a stop to voting at the special ballot held Wednesday.

The students say Sona approached the Elections Canada balloting site claiming that the process unfolding at the location was illegal and at one point reached for but never took possession of a container with ballots.

“He tried to grab for the ballot box. I’m not sure he got his hand on the box, but he definitely grabbed for it,” said Brenna Anstett, a student, who at the time of the reported incident was sealing her second of two envelopes containing her vote.

Student Claire Whalen was just about to receive her ballot just before 5 p.m. when the episode unfolded.

“That’s when a guy came up and said it was an illegal polling station and that he was confiscating the ballots. And then he tried to take (the ballot box),” Whalen said.

Whalen also identified the man as Sona.

The Guelph Mercury has not been able to verify that it was Sona and has not confirmed the identity of the individual that made the approach witnessed by the students.

And from Canada.com: www.canada.com/news/Tories+claim+university+polling+station+illegal/4618608/story.html

The Conservatives are urging Elections Canada to nullify votes cast Wednesday in a special ballot at the University of Guelph, suggesting the polling station is illegal and included partisan election material close to the ballot box.

In a letter to the agency, the Tories insist that any votes coming out of the university's special ballot should not be included in the final tally for the Guelph riding, where the Conservatives lost to the Liberals by about 1,700 votes.

"Elections Canada confirmed that no advance poll or other form of polling had been sanctioned for any location at the University of Guelph. Besides not being sanctioned, many of the controls that must be in place at a polling station did not exist,'' Conservative spokesman Ryan Sparrow wrote in an email.

He said scrutineers were not permitted, another procedure that must be in place to comply with the Canada Elections Act. Election materials from various candidates were at the polling station and within the ballot box, he said.

They make no mention of the Sona incident. We'll have to wait for other sources to confirm that part.

So... is this a case of the Conservatives being sneaky? Raising legitimate concerns? Or some combination of the two?

One thing I do know: The Sona incident, if accurately reported, is somewhat unsettling, given the goon-like approach to the whole thing. Very unprofessional, and it really brings up some questions of ethics, at least in regards to the candidate he represents.

[Alexandria]

-ahem-

PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN YOU TARDS!

[matante]

Even in the case where this station were illegal, they shouldn't have attempted to dismantle it themselves. Election Canada has the list of who voted there, so if they decide that it's invalid, they'll call them to tell them they need to vote on the regular date. Maybe that's exactly what the Conservatives want to prevent...

[Iosa the Invincible]

I was gonna say, I may not be Canadian, but if that guy hanging around like a vulture and trying to steal a ballot box is true, then it sounds more like desperation rather than genuine concern over the legality of the voting.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

Yeah, at the very least, it makes one question the ethics of the candidate he represents. I'm also skeptical of the claims about the university poll being partisan.

Update from Globe and Mail:

An increasingly common gambit to get students to vote descended into a fierce and partisan procedural squabble at the University of Guelph on Wednesday. Now, in a bid to prevent similar headaches, Elections Canada has outlawed similar efforts across the country.

On Friday, Elections Canada ruled that 241 votes cast by “special ballot” that the Conservative Party initially sought to have nullified are valid and will be counted. The Tories have agreed with the ruling and withdrawn their complaint.

But the electoral body also ordered all returning officers to refrain from setting up on-campus stations to accept special-ballot votes, eliminating a potentially easy way for students to vote early during their busy final exam period.

I'm glad the votes are being counted, but I'm not pleased that they're discontinuing the voting stations. A lot of students who wouldn't otherwise vote will turn out to these special ballots (particularly those whose home riding isn't near the university), and, unsurprisingly, these students tend to vote for someone other than the Conservatives. I have a hard time believing that that isn't the true motivation behind the complaint.

It seems that there might have been some deviance from normal procedures in this case, so the concerns weren't without warrant, but I do still question the Cons actions:

Elections Canada spokesman John Enright said that although Ms. Budra’s efforts were “well-intentioned,” they were not preauthorized by Elections Canada, nor were the parties given enough warning. Special ballots can still be cast with returning officers.

Globe and Mail did confirm the Sona story. Definitely not a shining moment in Conservative history.

The party leaders weigh in:

The disputed ballots touched off a storm of partisan jousting on the campaign trail on Friday. Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said ensuring respect for electoral rules was the party’s “sole concern,” and denied that his party was trying to suppress student voting at the university.

After a question-and-answer session with students at Sudbury’s Collège Boréal, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said the incident highlights a pattern of anti-democratic behaviour.

“This is the kind of thing you’d expect, you know, maybe in Egypt or Syria or some country that doesn’t know democracy,” Mr. Ignatieff said.

Honestly, I think Ignatieff is being a bit dramatic here, but I can agree with the sentiments about Conservatives being somewhat anti-democratic when it comes to getting their way. The refusal to negotiate the budget (while not helped by Layton, Duceppe and Ignatieff being drama whores about the whole thing) shows a definite disrespect for Canadian voters, most of whom did NOT vote for the Cons. I don't at all believe Harper when he says this is just about wanting the Elections Act to be properly followed.

Yet another day in the clusterfuck that is Canadian elections.

www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/elections-canada-puts-end-to-special-ballot-voting/article1987880/

[Thejebusfire]

Good god, and I thought the super conservatives down here were bad.

[Iosa the Invincible]

I'm glad the votes are being counted, but I'm not pleased that they're discontinuing the voting stations. A lot of students who wouldn't otherwise vote will turn out to these special ballots (particularly those whose home riding isn't near the university), and, unsurprisingly, these students tend to vote for someone other than the Conservatives. I have a hard time believing that that isn't the true motivation behind the complaint.

Reminds me of an earlier thread about US conservatives who want to restrict voting so it'll be harder for college students to vote.

[Mlle Antéchrist]

Apr 15, 2011 23:44:39 GMT -5 Thejebusfire said:

Good god, and I thought the super conservatives down here were bad.

Apr 15, 2011 23:53:46 GMT -5 Iosa the Invincible said:

Reminds me of an earlier thread about US conservatives who want to restrict voting so it'll be harder for college students to vote.

Yeah, all political parties are opportunistic. The article seems to indicate that the stations were failing to meet certain criteria, but I don't for a second believe that they'd have complained if this was in, say, an old folks home or a region where the Cons have the advantage.

Our Conservative party isn't quite in Republican territory yet, but I don't like the direction they're headed. The fact is that a lot of the folks who voted for the PCs are now voting for the Cons, not realizing that Harper and co. are significantly further to the right than the PCs ever were.