Judge throws out federal election results in Toronto riding

A judge has declared the 2011 federal election results in one Toronto riding to be null and void after a successful challenge by a former Liberal MP who lost to the Harper Conservatives by 26 votes.

The Ontario Superior Court ruling opens the door to a possible by-election in Etobicoke Centre should the decision survive a likely Supreme Court appeal.

This legal fight was started by former Etobicoke Centre Liberal Member of Parliament Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who had alleged election officials had not properly verified the identities of voters on ballot day.

Parties now have eight calendar days to appeal to the Supreme Court, a process that would be fast-tracked.

Ted Opitz beat Mr. Wrzesnewskyj on May 2, 2011 to win Etobicoke Centre for the Tories.

If Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s court victory isn’t overturned by the highest court, the Harper government would have six months to call a by-election in the riding.

The last time the courts overturned a federal by-election result was 1988 in the Toronto-area riding of York North.

Mr. Wrzesnewskyj alleged in a February court filing that a significant number of ineligible voters cast ballots in his riding, documenting cases where he believed people voted without proper verification of their identity.

Superior Court judge Thomas Lederer said 120 votes had to be set aside because voters were not properly registered or their identities were not properly established when others vouched for them.

He ruled the election results had to be thrown out because the number of set aside votes exceeded the margin of victory for Mr. Opitz.

“We need to be assured that those who vote are qualified to do so. We need to be confident that those who receive a ballot have been identified as persons who are on the official list of electors or who have registered,” Judge Lederer wrote.

“If we give up these foundations of our electoral system, we are risking a loss of confidence in our elections and in our government.”

Conservative Party spokesman Fred DeLorey said the party was “disappointed” by the court’s decision.

“Fifty two thousand people in Etobicoke Centre followed the rules, cast their ballots and today had their democratic decision thrown into doubt,” he said.

“Ted Opitz will continue working hard on behalf of his constituents.”

He pointed out that the shortcomings identified by the ruling are the fault of Elections Canada, not the Conservative Party.

“The judge has found problems with the way that Elections Canada ran the election in this riding,” Mr. DeLorey said.

“As the judge took care to point out in the decision, Ted Opitz and the Conservative campaign team followed the rules.”

Original Article
Source: Globe
Author:  STEVEN CHASE