Longest ballot in Alberta Federal Intermediate election is ‘Process Abuse’, says former Chief Electoral Officer
There are 214 candidates who walk in the Battle-Crowfoot-between-time elections on Monday, where conservative leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to win a chair.Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press
Former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley says that an election reform protest is known as the longest voting committee, is unjustified and unjustified and repeats his long-term call to politicians to change the election laws to tackle this.
There are a record 214 candidates who walk in the Battle River on Monday Crowfoot by-Election, where conservative leader Pierre Poilievre hopes to win a chair. 201 of those names are linked to the committee.
The number of candidates led Canada elections to switch to a writing mood-a movement that Mr. Kingsley said he was supporting. Lists of candidates will be available for voters, according to the Canada elections, and as long as the intention of the voter is clear, their voice will count even if they misunderstand the name of the candidate.
Opinion: Why I added my name to the long mood in the interim election of Pierre Poilievre
It could be the last time that the longest voting committee can at least keep this style of protest. Mr. Poilievre has called for changes in the election laws to put an end to what he has said is a ‘scam’. The office of the government house leader Steven Mackinnon, although without obligation, has said that the government shares concern about the longest voting initiative and is currently investigating the issue.
“I think it is an abuse of process,” Mr. Kingsley said, referring to the protest. “People have grievances, but in our democracy we have ways to express them.”
Mr. Kingsley was Chief Electoral Officer from 1990 to 2007.
If the committee’s organizers wanted to make a statement, he said they could have collected 250 signatures to form a political party with a candidate and a platform focused on the demands of the protest. He added that they could also support an existing party that matches their goals.
Wooden buffalo
National park
The Globe And Mail, Source: Elections Canada
Wooden buffalo
National park
The Globe And Mail, Source: Elections Canada
Wooden buffalo
National park
The Globe And Mail, Source: Elections Canada
Committee organizer Tomas SzucheWycz said he intended to protest, even if changes are being implemented.
Mr. SzucheWycz said in a statement that “the only abuse of the process is that politicians are in charge of their own election rules.” The group says that election laws must be determined by an independent body, such as a citizens’ meeting.
“I see no value in making a party or supporting an existing party, because we have seen countless times-a party that wins under first-paste-the-post, keeps first-paste-post, regardless of what they promise,” he said.
Mr. Kingsley said he publicly recommended changes months before the last parliament was dissolved. Proposed legislation should only tackle that problem, he added, making it more likely to pass.
Mr. McKinnon’s office referred to the previous statement when he was asked whether this problem would be tackled in the next meeting.
The interim election is the second time that the group protested with a race involving Mr. Poilievre.
The committee also protested against its former Ottawa -driving in April, who had a total of 84 candidates. Mr. Poilievre lost that race. It also has protested races where the liberals are historically strong.
Jean-Pierre Kingsley was the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada from 1990 to 2007.Tom Hanson/The Canadian Press
In most cases, Canada elections say that candidates each need 100 signatures of people in driving to be nominated. The Globe reported this week that many people signed 250 nomination forms.
Mr Kingsley said that if civil servants had known that people would sign several nomination forms when making that rule, they would probably have imposed a rule against this.
The current Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has proposed a ban on voters who sign multiple nomination documents, while he also claims that this should not invalid those nomination paper.
Mr. Kingsley agreed with that step, as well as a proposal from Mr. Poilievre to demand that they have unique financial agents from candidates. All the longest candidates for ballot papers have the same.
Mr. Poilievre has also proposed to increase the characteristic threshold to 0.5 percent of the population of a certain driving movement. Mr. Kingsley said he thinks “we are being served well” by the 100 characteristic rule, but is open to a debate on this.
Elections Canada said on Wednesday that around 14,453 people voted in the advanced polls of the interim election, which ran from 8-11 August. About the same number, 14,434, issued ballot papers in the advanced vote of the Federal Elections of April.
Note of the editors: This article has been updated to clarify that a vote will count, even if the voter wrongly spelled the name of a candidate.
