Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, October 05, 2015

Liberals: Voting Irregularities Should Be Reported To Elections Canada, Party

OTTAWA — Federal Liberals are urging voters to report voter irregularities, such as misleading phone calls, to both Elections Canada and the party itself.

The Grits, who have also vowed to strengthen the Canada Elections Act if they form government Oct.19, have created a voter incident reporting system where Canadians can document election problems.

Nova Scotia Liberal candidate Geoff Regan says voters should reach out to Canada's elections agency to report concerns but he contends the Liberal tool will aid with documentation.

"We saw in the last election how Elections Canada was inundated .. with calls on election day and emails, it is real challenge," Regan told a news conference in Ottawa Saturday.

"They're obviously undertaking an enormous effort on election day to run the election but we think it is very important we provide ways for people to document what they see."

The Liberals say the Conservatives have breached elections rules "time and time again."

Regan said there has not been evidence of dirty tricks in this election but he noted campaign signs have been destroyed.

"At this stage, we're not aware that any of it is organized," he said.

"I think as we head into the advanced polls next weekend, it is time to be very vigilant and watch for this sort of thing."

Both opposition parties have promised to protect voters during the midst of the campaign.

The NDP has vowed to introduce the Voter Protection Act as a way to stiffen penalties those who try to deny Canadians their right to vote.

In May 2013, a federal court judge said electoral fraud was committed in the 2011 election after voters in at least six ridings received telephone calls claiming to be from Elections Canada.

"I am satisfied that is has been established that misleading calls about the locations of polling stations were made to electors in ridings across the country, including the subject ridings, and that the purpose of those calls was to suppress the votes of electors," Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley said in his ruling.

Mosley could not determine who was behind the scheme, however.

He also said he was not satisfied that the "fraud affected the outcomes in the subject ridings."

"Had I found that any of the successful electoral candidates or their agents were implicated in any way in the fraudulent activity, I would not have hesitated to exercise my discretion to annul the result," he said.

"No such evidence was led."

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.ca/
Author: Kristy Kirkup

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