Conservative 'Robocalls' tricked voters in last election
- Thread starter mentalfloss
- Start date
Conducted on election day - Can mean Jail Time. 26 votes turned a Lib seat into a Con seat - do the math with frustrated Liberals getting the run around on poll stations - trying to vote - in TO the traffic sucks - 26 votes.
Total voters that turned out that day in Etobicoke Center - 52 794 - Total Voters on list - 81 765
Do the math.
Which makes it all the more stupid! :lol:
Sure hope so, once it's determined who was behind this skulduggery. Sh*t like this will probably result in poor voter turnout in future elections as more people see what a farce the system is. On another note, I think out of 308 ridings it is probably expected that a small handful will be won by a handful of votes, so it's doubtful if the numbers themselves will prove much.
Nope, I've been around too long for much to surprise me. Also at the outset of an election we are not sure just exactly which seats those 10% will be. There are generally some seats that are predicted to favour the winner and others that are predicted to favour the loser, but nothing is carved in stone due to the fickleness of many voters and even greater fickleness of many candidates. Sh*t happens in pig pens! :lol:
The elections act is very specific about a lot of things the problem is the agency has no guts.
The fact that 18 riding's in Ontario and some activity in Alberta indicates this was not some
rogue operator. Illegal activities of this kind are associated with third world emerging and
corrupt democracies. Perhaps we should be more concerned that the Harper minions are
trying to turn this country into one of those rogue states. We saw the Republicans do the same
thing a few years ago in Florida.
The fact that 18 riding's in Ontario and some activity in Alberta indicates this was not some
rogue operator. Illegal activities of this kind are associated with third world emerging and
corrupt democracies. Perhaps we should be more concerned that the Harper minions are
trying to turn this country into one of those rogue states. We saw the Republicans do the same
thing a few years ago in Florida.
I have heard between 18 and 30 ridings were affected. If just 13 are overturned it becomes another minority govt and Harpo will have to rethink his strategy for the next 4 years.
It is up to 34 as of today this must have been a very very good rogue operator. The big lie from
the Prime Ministers Office could backfire here. Harper knows everything, he handles everything
and I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't know about this.
Elections Canada must act when they find out who did what. This is a serious affront to democracy
itself and needs to be addressed with more that a sorry and a dismissal of the hand as it were.
Taking responsibility means someone must pay a big price..
the Prime Ministers Office could backfire here. Harper knows everything, he handles everything
and I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't know about this.
Elections Canada must act when they find out who did what. This is a serious affront to democracy
itself and needs to be addressed with more that a sorry and a dismissal of the hand as it were.
Taking responsibility means someone must pay a big price..
http://vancouverbiz.ca/img/harpernuclear.gif
I TOLD YOU HARPER, YOU WOULD GET CAUGHT!!!
Those illegal 'robo-calls' traced back to a Conservative-tied firm in Alberta are going to derail the North American Union Plans and our control of the Internet..
Dam you Harper!!
-----------------------------------
:lol: LOL
Last edited:
Tory ‘robo-call’ scandal widens as complaints flood from nearly 30 ridings
The “robo-call” and voter-suppression scandal is rapidly threatening to become a full-blown political crisis for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, with the number of ridings where dirty tricks are alleged to have skewed races in the last federal election climbing to almost 30.
The opposition contends the growing list of ridings across the country shows several people, not just one or two bad apples, were involved in a systematic, orchestrated effort to win tight races by misleading non-Conservative voters. This is a tactic, the opposition says, that has been imported from the rough-and-tumble culture of U.S. campaigning.
The newest allegations to surface are in a letter that NDP MPs Charlie Angus and Alexandre Boulerice sent to Elections Canada over the weekend, including two phone numbers they say were the source of harassing or misleading calls to NDP supporters in Thunder Bay-Superior North and Edmonton East on the evening of April 29, 2011, three days before the May 2 election.
“As we unearth additional specific evidence, we will forward it to you,” the MPs wrote, listing several ridings where they are doing their own investigation of complaints from campaign workers or party backers. “We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to ensure that the people or parties responsible for these dirty tricks are held to account and charged accordingly.”
The controversy highlights the tough, bare-knuckle nature of 21st-century politics, as parties use technology to blast messages out to targeted groups of voters, leaving little to chance. The question that will grip Ottawa in the coming weeks is whether the Conservatives are guilty of no more than hardball tactics, or whether some operatives’ behaviour amounted to electoral fraud.
Robocalling, while useful as a relatively inexpensive, efficient way to reach current or prospective supporters for fundraising, event planning and the like, also makes it easier for anyone inclined to use it for dirty tricks.
Brad Lavigne, national director for the federal NDP, said he views robocalling as a perfectly legitimate, cost-saving and efficient tool – depending how it is used. “The issue here is not the technology, the issue here is the fraudulent claims, impersonating Elections Canada officials and obstructing people’s ability to vote,” he said.
“After the investigation is complete and after this issue has been dealt with a little bit more, I think MPs are going to ask themselves, ‘does Elections Canada have all the tools that they need to investigate these kinds of allegations?’ ” Mr. Lavigne said. “It’s certainly something that will be looked at, after this investigation is concluded.”
Tory 'robo-call' scandal widens as complaints flood from nearly 30 ridings - The Globe and Mail
The “robo-call” and voter-suppression scandal is rapidly threatening to become a full-blown political crisis for Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, with the number of ridings where dirty tricks are alleged to have skewed races in the last federal election climbing to almost 30.
The opposition contends the growing list of ridings across the country shows several people, not just one or two bad apples, were involved in a systematic, orchestrated effort to win tight races by misleading non-Conservative voters. This is a tactic, the opposition says, that has been imported from the rough-and-tumble culture of U.S. campaigning.
The newest allegations to surface are in a letter that NDP MPs Charlie Angus and Alexandre Boulerice sent to Elections Canada over the weekend, including two phone numbers they say were the source of harassing or misleading calls to NDP supporters in Thunder Bay-Superior North and Edmonton East on the evening of April 29, 2011, three days before the May 2 election.
“As we unearth additional specific evidence, we will forward it to you,” the MPs wrote, listing several ridings where they are doing their own investigation of complaints from campaign workers or party backers. “We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to ensure that the people or parties responsible for these dirty tricks are held to account and charged accordingly.”
The controversy highlights the tough, bare-knuckle nature of 21st-century politics, as parties use technology to blast messages out to targeted groups of voters, leaving little to chance. The question that will grip Ottawa in the coming weeks is whether the Conservatives are guilty of no more than hardball tactics, or whether some operatives’ behaviour amounted to electoral fraud.
Robocalling, while useful as a relatively inexpensive, efficient way to reach current or prospective supporters for fundraising, event planning and the like, also makes it easier for anyone inclined to use it for dirty tricks.
Brad Lavigne, national director for the federal NDP, said he views robocalling as a perfectly legitimate, cost-saving and efficient tool – depending how it is used. “The issue here is not the technology, the issue here is the fraudulent claims, impersonating Elections Canada officials and obstructing people’s ability to vote,” he said.
“After the investigation is complete and after this issue has been dealt with a little bit more, I think MPs are going to ask themselves, ‘does Elections Canada have all the tools that they need to investigate these kinds of allegations?’ ” Mr. Lavigne said. “It’s certainly something that will be looked at, after this investigation is concluded.”
Tory 'robo-call' scandal widens as complaints flood from nearly 30 ridings - The Globe and Mail
Yep, it's going to be interesting how this all plays out- I'm just hoping that Mr. Harper isn't making these prisons he's building too plush! :lol:
Probably - I'm pretty sure when all this plays out it will be one of the lesser (and stupider) minions that was actually behind it. I'm not a big fan of Harper but I don't think he's stupid. :lol:
I made misleading election calls for the Tories: Call centre workers speak out
“We would call these (voters) and they would say ‘we went there and that’s not a real place,’” said a woman, who worked for Responsive Marketing Group Inc., and asked not to be named.
“The whole call centre (noticed it was happening).”
“We called the RCMP,” she said. “We actually also told our supervisor about it.”
But no action was taken and employees were told to stick to the script, the woman said.
“We would call these (voters) and they would say ‘we went there and that’s not a real place,’” said a woman, who worked for Responsive Marketing Group Inc., and asked not to be named.
“The whole call centre (noticed it was happening).”
“We called the RCMP,” she said. “We actually also told our supervisor about it.”
But no action was taken and employees were told to stick to the script, the woman said.