Last year, when the Conservatives were pushing the Fair Elections Act through Parliament, Conservative MP Brad Butt stood up -- twice -- to claim he had seen voter information cards being stolen.
Stephen Best, who lives in Butts' riding, thought the story was weird. If Butt saw people stealing voter cards, why didn't he report it?
Best contacted Elections Canada, and the agency checked Butt's bogus claims. Two weeks later, Butt stood up in the House to say that he had made up his story.
A lot of people are going to be prevented from voting in October to prevent the kind of thing that Butt didn't see.
The Fair Elections Act prevents voters from using voter cards as identification on election day. People with up-to-date driver's licences are fine, but nearly four million Canadians don't have those. To vote, they will have to show ID that proves who they are and where they live.
This all appears to have been inspired by American laws that make it harder for poor people to vote, ostensibly to prevent voter fraud.
On Thursday, lawyer Steven Shrybman will ask a Toronto judge to issue an emergency injunction to allow the use of voter cards as identification this October. If Shrybman succeeds, Elections Canada would still have time to reprint the cards.
Shrybman, representing the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students, will argue that the Fair Elections Act violates the Charter right to vote, because tens of thousands of voters will be unable to prove their identity and address on election day.
Shrybman's case depends on evidence from election expert Harry Neufeld, who says that after many years of looking for voter fraud, he has failed to find it. In the rare cases where people do vote twice they do so because of mental disability or intoxication.
Justice Department lawyers argue that it's up to MPs, not judges, to decide what ID is required. And anyone without ID can just acquire a Letter of Confirmation of Residence!
They say safeguards are needed to protect the integrity of the electoral system, but in their 51-page affidavit they are able to point to only two fraudulent votes, both cast by pranksters from Quebec TV show Infoman, who spoiled their ballots in 2011.
Luckily for the Conservatives, the judge may rule based on the threshold necessary to overturn a potentially unconstitutional law before there is time for a full airing of evidence rather than the merits of the law.
more
Conservatives make voting tougher for poor | Welland Tribune
Stephen Best, who lives in Butts' riding, thought the story was weird. If Butt saw people stealing voter cards, why didn't he report it?
Best contacted Elections Canada, and the agency checked Butt's bogus claims. Two weeks later, Butt stood up in the House to say that he had made up his story.
A lot of people are going to be prevented from voting in October to prevent the kind of thing that Butt didn't see.
The Fair Elections Act prevents voters from using voter cards as identification on election day. People with up-to-date driver's licences are fine, but nearly four million Canadians don't have those. To vote, they will have to show ID that proves who they are and where they live.
This all appears to have been inspired by American laws that make it harder for poor people to vote, ostensibly to prevent voter fraud.
On Thursday, lawyer Steven Shrybman will ask a Toronto judge to issue an emergency injunction to allow the use of voter cards as identification this October. If Shrybman succeeds, Elections Canada would still have time to reprint the cards.
Shrybman, representing the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students, will argue that the Fair Elections Act violates the Charter right to vote, because tens of thousands of voters will be unable to prove their identity and address on election day.
Shrybman's case depends on evidence from election expert Harry Neufeld, who says that after many years of looking for voter fraud, he has failed to find it. In the rare cases where people do vote twice they do so because of mental disability or intoxication.
Justice Department lawyers argue that it's up to MPs, not judges, to decide what ID is required. And anyone without ID can just acquire a Letter of Confirmation of Residence!
They say safeguards are needed to protect the integrity of the electoral system, but in their 51-page affidavit they are able to point to only two fraudulent votes, both cast by pranksters from Quebec TV show Infoman, who spoiled their ballots in 2011.
Luckily for the Conservatives, the judge may rule based on the threshold necessary to overturn a potentially unconstitutional law before there is time for a full airing of evidence rather than the merits of the law.
more
Conservatives make voting tougher for poor | Welland Tribune
