Elections Canada has declared that disputed votes in a special ballot at the University of Guelph were cast legitimately.
In a statement, the electoral body said: “All information at our disposal indicates that the votes were cast in a manner that respects the Elections Canada Act and are valid.”
But the statement also notes that the special-ballot polling station, set up Wednesday by local Elections Canada returning officer Anne Budra to encourage students to vote, “was not pre-authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer,” and that all returning officers have been instructed “not to engage in any further activities of a similar nature.”
In a letter to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Conservative Party lawyer Arthur Hamilton demanded that all votes cast on campus by students be declared null and void. Mr. Hamilton alleged that the polling station had not been sanctioned by Elections Canada, that partisan materials were present “in the polling location and indeed immediately proximate to the location of the ballot box,” and that a scrutineer had been excluded from supervising.
In response to the Elections Canada ruling, the Conservative Party released a statement saying “we applaud the decision not to disenfranchise University of Guelph students because of errors by the local Returning Officer. These student voters should not suffer because of mistakes by the local election officials.”
Special ballots are set up as a way of facilitating the voting process for groups that are often underrepresented on voting day. Charles Cunningham, director of communications at the University of Guelph, said special ballots have been held on the school’s campus “two or three times before.”
Under the Elections Canada Act, voters may apply for and vote by special ballot through any returning officer. But Elections Canada said initiatives to set up special balloting stations “are expected to be planned well ahead of the election.”
Mr. Hamilton’s letter says Pierre Boutet of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer assured Mr. Hamilton that “no advance poll or other form of polling had been sanctioned by Elections Canada for any location at the University of Guelph that day.” But an advance poll is different from a special ballot, and special ballots do not necessarily need express authorization.
Ms. Burdra told the Guelph Mercurty earlier this week that the special ballot was well-attended, and Elections Canada said it collected 241 votes. Ms. Budra set up the station because many of the university’s students will not be in Guelph for advanced polls on Apr. 22, 23 and 25, or on election day. The Elections Canada statement described her actions as “well-intentioned.”
The station was set up about 10 metres inside the main doors of the campus University Centre, a bustling hub that features food outlets, booths promoting campus groups, study space and offices, according to one observer. Lineups snaked around the Centre’s atrium as students waited more than an hour on average to cast ballots.
Guelph student Brenna Anstett, who describes herself as non-partisan, was at the ballot station casting her vote around 5 p.m. on Wednesday when a man she identifies as Michael Sona, the communications director for Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke, attempted to stop voting claiming that Elections Canada had told him the station was illegal.
“He was making a commotion, it was a big scene. He seemed aggressive and angry, and was quite loud,” she said. “He went to make a grab for the ballot box. He didn’t have it in his hands at all that I recall. One of the Elections Canada officers intervened and kind of held on to the box.”
The Conservative Party denies that any of its supporters on the local Marty Burke campaign touched a ballot box.
