TWO ARTICLES:
(1) http://www.briankieran.com/2011/04/voter-suppression-in-canada-apathy-by.html
Posted by Brian Kieran
Voter suppression in Canada – apathy by design
| It’s the attack ads that were born in the USA |
“People around the world will risk their lives to get democracy and in Canada we appear to have people willing to deliberately poison democracy,” May said.
| Fear mongering at its finest in this anti-Liberal ad |
Venomous and inaccurate attack ads are just one of many tactics. More sophisticted techniques are used in the US to sour opponents. One is a ”push poll,” a smear campaign that sounds like a neutral phone survey. As well, direct mail efforts are used to keep people home.
The Republican Party once sent ”voter registration bulletins” to 150,000 African-Americans, who tend to be Democrats, warning them that if they showed up to vote they would be questioned about their residency.
This strategy to sully the process so completely that we lose interest in voting altogether has been described as ”one of the dirty little secrets of political consultants.”
What can we do to prevent voter suppression from coming to Canada?
The best prevention against vote suppression is education. The main information for source about the election is Elections Ontario. Ensuring their website provides an opportunity to report improper practices and educated voters on what to look out for would be useful.
More significant moves are also possible. California recently introduced a Voter Intimidation Restitution Fund, which uses the fines from those convicted of vote suppression crimes to assist in paying for voter education initiatives to prevent misinformation in the first place. Ontario should consider moving to a similar fund if these imported techniques gain any foothold here.
Finally, Elections Ontario needs to treat voter suppression as the crime it is. The first line of defence is the Election Act, which bans voter interference and attempts to mislead voters about where to cast their ballots.
As you can see, the penalties for such crimes are severe, including up to $25,000 in fines and two years less a day in prison, as well as loss of any provincial office and an eight year ban from holding a provincial office:
—
Interference with exercise of vote
96.2 (1) A person who, inside or outside Ontario, prevents another person from voting or impedes or otherwise interferes with the person’s exercise of the vote is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000. 2011, c. 17, s. 3.
Party to offence
(2) A person who, inside or outside Ontario, does anything for the purpose of aiding another person to commit the offence described in subsection (1), abets another person in committing it, or counsels or procures another person to commit it is a party to the offence. 2011, c. 17, s. 3.
Impersonation
96.3 A person who, inside or outside Ontario, falsely represents himself or herself to be any of the following is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000:
1. An employee or agent of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
2. A person appointed under this Act.
3. A candidate or a person who is authorized by the candidate to act on his or her behalf.
4. A person who is authorized by a registered party or registered constituency association to act on its behalf. 2011, c. 17, s. 3.
General offence
97. Every person who contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, for which contravention no penalty is otherwise provided, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $5,000. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.6, s. 97.
Corrupt practice
97.1 If, when a person is convicted of an offence under section 90, 94, 95, 96, 96.1, 96.2 or 96.3, the presiding judge finds that the offence was committed knowingly, the person is also guilty of a corrupt practice and is liable to one or both of the following:
1. A fine of not more than $25,000, instead of the fine that would otherwise apply.
2. Imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day. 2011, c. 17, s. 4.
Corrupt practice, effect of conviction
98. (1) A person who is convicted of a corrupt practice,
(a) shall forfeit any office to which he or she was elected; and
(b) is ineligible to stand as a candidate at any election or to hold any office at the nomination of the Crown or the Lieutenant Governor in Council until the eighth anniversary of the date of the official return.
—
However, all the legislation in the world won’t make a difference if the appropriate authorities will not treat voter suppression as the crime it is.
Much like auditors-general, who began to use their powers to uncover real problems of mismanagement, Elections Ontario needs to effectively expose wrong-doing in electioneering.
If there are examples of voter suppression in this election, Elections Ontario needs to be held responsible by the public to find the criminals involved and prosecute them to the fullest extent of their ability.