Latest news with #ElectionsCanada
Edmonton Journal
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Edmonton Journal
Lorne Gunter: Elections Canada put an end to Longest Ballot Committee's trickery
Article content So the Longest Ballot Committee has been thwarted — sort of — in its effort to hijack next month's byelection in Battle River-Crowfoot. Article content The committee's stunt of clogging the ballot in the central Alberta riding with more than 200 names worked. By the close of nominations on Tuesday, the committee had convinced more than 200 of its supporters to let their names stand, even though most of them have never been to the riding and have no intention of campaigning. Article content Article content Article content There is a provision in the federal Elections Act that permits voters to use write-in ballots, rather than the typical list-style ballot. It is usually only used for special electors, such as voters who show up at an Elections Canada office on a day not set up for advance polling. Article content Write-in ballots typically aren't used over a full riding in an official byelection, but Elections Canada decided there was no prohibition against using write-in at every polling station in the ranching, farming and oil-drilling riding. Article content So on election day Aug. 18 and at advance polls, voters will have a list of all the nominees to look at, if they want, Then they will write their preferred candidate's name on a single-line ballot. Perfectly correct spelling is not required, so long as it is obvious to returning officers for whom the ballot was cast. Article content Article content This saves Elections Canada from having to produce a ballot nearly seven feet long. Article content Article content That's a good thing. Such long ballots in the past have led to hours-long counting delays on election night. Article content Write-in balloting, however, discourages turnout. It seems to some voters to be more complicated and less reliable than choosing their candidate from a reasonably short list with party affiliation clearly shown. Article content And write-in balloting favours incumbents or, in the case of Pierre Poilievre, very well-known candidates. Article content Most voters in Battle River–Crowfoot or elsewhere in Canada know Poilievre by name. If you want to vote Conservative, you simply show up at the polls and write in his famous name.
CBC
6 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Elections Canada workers say issues in 2 Cape Breton offices made April vote a 'nightmare'
Several Elections Canada workers in a newly reconfigured Nova Scotia riding say a number of issues made April's voting process a "nightmare" for poll workers and voters alike. The complaints were brought forward by a handful of people who staffed two offices in the riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish. The riding takes in all of Cape Breton Island outside of the new urban riding of Sydney-Glace Bay, as well as all municipal units found within Antigonish and Guysborough counties. Liberal candidate Jaime Battiste, who had served two terms in the former Sydney-Victoria riding, won the newly redrawn district on April 28. While the Elections Canada workers who spoke to CBC do not dispute the result, they are critical of their offices' employee training, inaccurate election materials that were also in short supply, and lengthy delays in receiving payment. 'There was a lot of pressure' Megan Rankin of Lower River Inhabitants, Richmond County, was originally hired as a service agent for the Port Hawkesbury Elections Canada office. But on the day of her orientation session, she was abruptly reassigned to be the office co-ordinator, she said. Rankin, who had previously worked in provincial electoral offices, said she immediately sensed a lack of communication and organization as the April 20 advance poll approached. "Because this election was important to so many, there was a lot riding on it to make sure everything worked out really well. So there was a lot of pressure," she said. "Somebody would come in and tell you what you were supposed to be doing, and you'd be doing it, and someone else would come right in after them and say, 'No, no, scrap that, you're not supposed to be doing that, we need something else done.'" Rankin said the confusion extended to voters, with some sent to polling stations several kilometres out of their way. Elections Canada cards mailed to voters in St. Peter's, in eastern Richmond County, advised them to travel to a polling station in St. Francis Harbour, Guysborough County. Multiple polling stations were established in small communities, while larger neighbouring communities had only a single polling station. Elections Canada did not respond to the specific complaints when contacted by the CBC to address the workers' concerns. Communications officer Matthew McKenna said in a statement only that late-campaign staff vacancies were filled by a new assistant returning officer and co-ordinator brought in from outside Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish. Rankin said she feels a lack of knowledge — both at the local and national levels — about the new riding's size hindered the efficiency of the process. "We had over 200 polls, from advance polls to the regular polling. And we ran from Antigonish right up to Neils Harbour, and Louisbourg, and all the little places in between. And we had to make sure they had all the right materials," she said. "So, logistically, it was a nightmare." Payment delays frustrate election workers Lisa Skinner, one of two central poll supervisors in her home community of Arichat, echoed Rankin's concerns about low morale, poor office organization and placement of polling stations in areas outside of their traditional communities. Skinner also criticized a payment system that meant some workers didn't receive their remuneration until nearly two months after the federal campaign ended. She said the 2025 election was the third straight federal vote that was followed by lengthy payment delays. "When I called the Elections Canada payroll line, they were very quick to blame the Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish returning office," Skinner said. She said she received calls from numerous election workers wondering when their paycheques would arrive. While Skinner said workers were told in the early stages of the campaign that their pay might not arrive quickly, she asserted that Elections Canada has to "do better" in future votes. "You might not be shovelling dirt or you might not be out on a fishing boat, and everybody says 'Oh, you're working in an office,' but it's still hard work. It's mentally draining, and we work hard," Skinner said.
CBC
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Debate underway for candidates vying for seat in Alberta byelection featuring Poilievre
Ten candidates vying to represent Battle River-Crowfoot in the House of Commons are debating tonight in the riding's largest municipality. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is among the candidates at the event being hosted by the Camrose & District Chamber of Commerce ahead of the Aug. 18 byelection. Poilievre is looking to win in the sprawling eastern Alberta riding after he lost his long-held Ottawa seat of Carleton in the April general election. The writ was dropped last month after Conservative Damien Kurek, who handily won the seat in the April vote, stepped down so Poilievre could run. About 210 candidates were registered to run as of Monday on Elections Canada's website, including Liberal candidate Darcy Spady, the NDP's Katherine Swampy, Independent Bonnie Critchley and dozens of others sponsored by the Longest Ballot Committee protest group. WATCH | The longest ballot in federal election history with a twist: The longest ballot in federal election history with a twist 1 day ago With more than 200 names now in the running in Alberta's Battle River–Crowfoot byelection, voters now won't actually be scanning a long piece of paper to mark an "x" beside their preferred candidate. They will, however, need to come prepared because they'll be writing the name of the candidate they're voting for by hand. Elections Canada says adapted ballots requiring electors to write out the name of their preferred pick will be available at polls given the unusually long list of candidates.
Calgary Herald
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Chris Selley: There are easy solutions to the 'longest ballot' problem, so let's end it now
Article content There are many irritating things about the Longest Ballot Committee, the group of self-styled democratic reformers that stacks high-profile ridings with scores of candidates who aren't really running for office, with the aim of creating ludicrously enormous paper ballots. It's completely incoherent, first and foremost. Article content The long-balloters want to take electoral-reform decisions like proportional representation out of politicians' hands and give the authority over to some 'citizens' assembly.' They believe politicians ought to 'recuse' themselves from such decisions, because they're in an inherent conflict of interest. Article content Article content Even if you agree, which you should not, it escapes me how packing the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection on Aug. 18 with 199 essentially fake candidates says anything about that daft citizens' assembly idea one way or the other. Indeed, among the chief complainants against the longest-balloters are legitimate independent candidates, people who are actually campaigning and trying to make a point, who tend to get lost among scores of other 'fake' candidates who aren't affiliated with a political party. And for what? Article content Article content The most annoying thing, though, and a very Canadian thing, is that people have been talking about what to do about this movement since it first became a minor menace at least three years ago … and nothing has been done, despite some pretty obvious solutions sitting there waiting to be adopted. Article content Conservative Leader and Battle River—Crowfoot candidate Pierre Poilievre, among others, has suggested not allowing electors to sign the nomination papers of more than one candidate. (The longest-balloters generally use mostly the same collection of signatures for all their fake candidates. You need 100 to qualify to run.) That's an entirely reasonable proposal. The returning officer in each riding is supposed to check that the names and addresses attached to those signatures are above board; it should not be difficult to notice when duplicates come up. Article content Article content That alone would make the 'scam,' as Poilievre calls it, much more time-consuming for the scammers — and without jacking up the number of signatures required to run, or requiring candidates to live in the riding in question, or other measures that otherwise might be contentious. Maybe the longest-balloters would adapt and find even more obnoxious methods. Trolls tend to do that. But at the very least, it is worth a try. Article content Article content All that said, Elections Canada — which is not always known for excellent decision-making — hatched a very simple and effective solution for the Battle River—Crowfoot byelection: Instead of marking your X on a ballot as long as a beach towel, you will write down your chosen candidate's name. (Elections Canada assures us spelling errors and such will be treated generously.) Article content Perhaps it's not ideal to have different ballot procedures in different ridings — though the Longest Ballot Committee generally only targets one riding per election — but it's tough to imagine a serious, cogent objection to this idea. If you can read the candidate's name, you ought to be able to write it down as well. I quite like the idea of driving home to voters that they're voting for individuals who belong to parties, not for the parties themselves.
Winnipeg Free Press
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Electoral reform, dinosaurs and ‘spite': the ‘Longest Ballot' protest, explained
OTTAWA – More than 200 candidates are running in the Battle River-Crowfoot byelection, though only a handful have the support of official parties. Most of the rest are linked to a protest movement that's looking to change the way elections are conducted in the country. The front-runner in the race, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, is seeking a path back to the House of Commons after losing his Ottawa-area riding in the last federal election. Poilievre has attacked the Longest Ballot Committee's efforts to stack the ballot with a large number of candidates as a 'blatant abuse' of democracy. Here's what the Longest Ballot Committee says it wants, what its opponents say needs to change and how Elections Canada is planning to handle the Aug. 18 vote. Why are these protests happening? The Longest Ballot Committee is pushing for electoral reform, arguing that Canada must move beyond the first-past-the-post system to something that would better reflect the wishes of voters. The Longest Ballot Committee was responsible for adding 85 of the 91 names on the ballot in Poilievre's former riding of Carleton in the last federal election. While Poilievre lost that seat to a Liberal after holding it for nearly two decades, none of the Longest Ballot candidates got more than 57 votes. The group says it's trying to draw the public's attention to the need for electoral reform and has run dozens of candidates in multiple byelections in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba since 2022. What do the Longest Ballot Committee candidates promise? The Longest Ballot Committee candidates are — no surprise — promising electoral reform. Some have been going off-script, however. One Longest Ballot Committee candidate in Battle River-Crowfoot has a website that simply says they're running 'out of spite.' 'If you only get to vote once, vote for the person who isn't a politician,' the website for Abel Erazo-Ibarra says. Another for Nicola Zoghbi promises 'dinosaurs for everyone.' 'My first move as MP will be to rename the electoral district Raptor River—Crowfoot, in honour of the velociraptors that once terrorized the Albertan plains,' Zoghbi's website says. Zoghbi — apparently a Spielberg fan — is also vowing to lobby Universal to open a Jurassic Park-style theme park in the riding where 'visitors from all over the world will flock — like pterodactyls' to 'relive the adventures of Dr. Alan Grant and the other poor souls who had the (mis) fortune of seeing the dinosaurs up close.' Lori Turnbull, a political-science professor at Dalhousie University, said that while electoral reform is a worthwhile cause, the long ballot protests are alienating voters. 'Federal elections are supposed to be serious events. It's a serious decision to decide who is going to represent you,' she said. 'These people aren't looking to get elected — they're looking to make a point. That's going to depreciate the integrity of democracy and the overall sense that the election is serious and it means something.' What does the legislation say? To run as a candidate in a federal election, one must be a Canadian citizen at least 18 years old on election day and must secure signatures from at least 100 people in the riding. If the riding is larger or remote, the minimum signature requirement drops to 50. What are people proposing to end long ballots? Poilievre and Conservative MP Michael Cooper are pitching changes to the elections rules that would increase the required number of nomination signatures to 0.5 per cent of the population in a riding, rather than 100 people. According to 2021 Census data, that means a candidate in Toronto Centre would need nearly 600 signatures, while a candidate in Malpeque, P.E.I. would need 192. Poilievre and Cooper are also proposing that each of those signatures be exclusive to a candidate, and that official agents be barred from representing more than one candidate at any given time. Asked whether the government is considering those changes, a spokesperson for House leader Steven MacKinnon said the government 'shares the concerns' about long ballots and is 'examining the issue.' Turnbull said that while long ballots may cause frustration for candidates and those working the polls, the solution isn't to rewrite Canada's election laws. She said Longest Ballot Committee candidates don't receive a large enough share of the vote to affect elections in any meaningful way, beyond the administrative burdens they impose on Elections Canada. She also worries that requiring candidates to collect a higher number of signatures might freeze out serious Independent challengers like Bonnie Critchley, who is running against Poilievre in Battle River-Crowfoot. 'That's not a reasonable test to put on a serious, Independent candidate,' Turnbull said. How is Elections Canada planning to handle the byelection? Voters in Battle River-Crowfoot will be using an 'adapted ballot' that will have a blank space where electors can write in the name of their preferred candidate, replacing the typical list-style ballot. Sixteen candidates on the ballot have last names that are the same or similar. Most of them are candidates associated with the Longest Ballot Committee. 'As long as the elector's intention is clear, their vote will be counted, even if they misspell the candidate's name,' Elections Canada says. 'The list of candidates will be available at every voting table so that electors can find the name of their candidate of choice.' Elections Canada says counting the ballots in Battle River-Crowfoot is likely to take longer than usual. The agency has said long ballots create accessibility barriers for some voters because the ballots become 'overwhelming and confusing.' In a briefing document posted on the Elections Canada website, the agency raised concerns about voters who use wheelchairs. It said it's difficult for them to reach past the middle of a long ballot without pulling it off the table, which risks damaging or spoiling the ballot. 'These visual and physical challenges impact the independence and secrecy of the voting experience since some voters with disabilities must resort to asking for assistance from an election officer to properly handle or mark the long ballot,' the document says. — With files from Sarah Ritchie This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025.
