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Ignatieff slams Tory attempt to annul votes at University of Guelph
OTTAWA — Elections Canada says ballots cast at the University of Guelph are valid.
The elections watchdog has issued a statement slapping down a Conservative party effort to have the votes annulled.
Elections Canada agrees the special balloting at the university was not pre-authorized before the election campaign, as it should have been.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called the effort to annul student votes an affront to democracy that is part of a pattern of abuses by the Tories.
He said it shows a lack of respect for the process.
And NDP Leader Jack Layton called for an investigation.
“This kind of intimidation and harassment is wrong,†Layton said. “Of course everybody should follow the rules. But what are the Conservatives up to here?â€
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it’s simply a matter of making sure the election rules are followed.
Arthur Hamilton, the lawyer for the Conservative party, wrote to Elections Canada on Thursday saying there were irregularities in the way a special ballot station was run on the campus.
The Tories said in a statement that the elections overseer replied that the poll wasn’t sanctioned.
“The real issue was not the denial of procedural fairness at a legally authorized poll, but the fact that the poll was not authorized at all,†the party said in a statement.
“Pierre Boutet of Elections Canada informed our legal counsel that the Guelph poll was not authorized by Elections Canada. Given the admission that the local returning officer acted without authority, we leave it to Elections Canada to enforce the rules and uphold the law.â€
“Our sole concern is that all the rules be followed,†Harper said during a campaign stop north of Toronto.
However, Elections Canada says all information at its disposal indicates the proceedings were above board.
Students at the university say a Tory organizer even tried to grab the ballot box at one point, but the party’s statement said none of its workers or volunteers made any effort to interfere at the poll.
“The outlandish and unfounded claims being spread on the internet are the product of desperation, and are most regrettable,†the statement said.
Ignatieff, however, said he was disturbed by the reports.
“This is part of a pattern and Canadians need to know it’s worrying. I just, I can’t believe it,†Ignatieff said at a campaign news conference.
He said it fits with Harper’s efforts to screen audiences at his campaign events.
Trying to cancel votes at a university flies in the face of efforts to increase the turnout among young voters, Ignatieff said.
“A politician has two loyalties here: a loyalty to his party and a loyalty to the democratic system. I’d like to see some loyalty to the democratic system from the prime minister.â€
Harper said he supports efforts to get out the vote: “We are all concerned about the gradual fall we’re seeing in voting rates.â€
The Guelph students, who inspired the “vote mobs†in videos posted on YouTube, said the poll was organized correctly, with a Conservative scrutineer on hand.
Hamilton’s letter said campaign material was present at the polling station, which is prohibited.
But students say election officials removed partisan leaflets and flyers as people came in to vote.
Yvonne Su, 21, a student who organized the vote mob at the university earlier this month to encourage her peers to votes, said she is shocked.
The vote mob movement has spread to other universities across Canada and is likely in part responsible for the large turnout seen at the special polling station at the university. The students say more than 700 people voted there.
Considering all her efforts to improve the dismal voting record of young people in Canada — just 37 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 cast a ballot in 2008 — Su said she is upset with the Conservatives.
“We were all very disappointed about how they handled it,†she said. “A lot of us just felt disrespected as voters and as young people.â€
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/l...ersity-of-guelph-rejected-by-elections-canada
OTTAWA — Elections Canada says ballots cast at the University of Guelph are valid.
The elections watchdog has issued a statement slapping down a Conservative party effort to have the votes annulled.
Elections Canada agrees the special balloting at the university was not pre-authorized before the election campaign, as it should have been.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff called the effort to annul student votes an affront to democracy that is part of a pattern of abuses by the Tories.
He said it shows a lack of respect for the process.
And NDP Leader Jack Layton called for an investigation.
“This kind of intimidation and harassment is wrong,†Layton said. “Of course everybody should follow the rules. But what are the Conservatives up to here?â€
But Prime Minister Stephen Harper said it’s simply a matter of making sure the election rules are followed.
Arthur Hamilton, the lawyer for the Conservative party, wrote to Elections Canada on Thursday saying there were irregularities in the way a special ballot station was run on the campus.
The Tories said in a statement that the elections overseer replied that the poll wasn’t sanctioned.
“The real issue was not the denial of procedural fairness at a legally authorized poll, but the fact that the poll was not authorized at all,†the party said in a statement.
“Pierre Boutet of Elections Canada informed our legal counsel that the Guelph poll was not authorized by Elections Canada. Given the admission that the local returning officer acted without authority, we leave it to Elections Canada to enforce the rules and uphold the law.â€
“Our sole concern is that all the rules be followed,†Harper said during a campaign stop north of Toronto.
However, Elections Canada says all information at its disposal indicates the proceedings were above board.
Students at the university say a Tory organizer even tried to grab the ballot box at one point, but the party’s statement said none of its workers or volunteers made any effort to interfere at the poll.
“The outlandish and unfounded claims being spread on the internet are the product of desperation, and are most regrettable,†the statement said.
Ignatieff, however, said he was disturbed by the reports.
“This is part of a pattern and Canadians need to know it’s worrying. I just, I can’t believe it,†Ignatieff said at a campaign news conference.
He said it fits with Harper’s efforts to screen audiences at his campaign events.
Trying to cancel votes at a university flies in the face of efforts to increase the turnout among young voters, Ignatieff said.
“A politician has two loyalties here: a loyalty to his party and a loyalty to the democratic system. I’d like to see some loyalty to the democratic system from the prime minister.â€
Harper said he supports efforts to get out the vote: “We are all concerned about the gradual fall we’re seeing in voting rates.â€
The Guelph students, who inspired the “vote mobs†in videos posted on YouTube, said the poll was organized correctly, with a Conservative scrutineer on hand.
Hamilton’s letter said campaign material was present at the polling station, which is prohibited.
But students say election officials removed partisan leaflets and flyers as people came in to vote.
Yvonne Su, 21, a student who organized the vote mob at the university earlier this month to encourage her peers to votes, said she is shocked.
The vote mob movement has spread to other universities across Canada and is likely in part responsible for the large turnout seen at the special polling station at the university. The students say more than 700 people voted there.
Considering all her efforts to improve the dismal voting record of young people in Canada — just 37 per cent of Canadians aged 18 to 24 cast a ballot in 2008 — Su said she is upset with the Conservatives.
“We were all very disappointed about how they handled it,†she said. “A lot of us just felt disrespected as voters and as young people.â€
http://www.guelphmercury.com/news/l...ersity-of-guelph-rejected-by-elections-canada
