Elections Ontario Can Learn From Problems

Nearly 57 per cent of local people in Haldimand-Norfolk came out to vote on October 10th – that’s 42,840 electors of a possible 74,362.

On the Elections Ontario website there is a message that states: “Being a voter is about more than dropping a ballot every few years. It’s about the things you care about, on election day and every day. In your own community and across the province.” I for one have always taken my right to vote very seriously and there are obviously many others who do as well -- it is unfortunate that this time around, process and procedure prevented some from exercising their right. This was one of the biggest complaints that my campaign workers and I heard during the election.

I do know that there were many voters who simply stayed home because they didn’t get a voter’s card, or their card indicated they had to travel far from home to vote despite living minutes from a polling location.

A new requirement during the 2007 election was that electors had to prove their identity to poll officials prior to voting. Time and again I heard from many folks who did not vote because they either did not have the proper identification or felt it was an infringement of their rights.

I personally disagree with a recent decision by Elections Canada to allow Muslim women to vote with their faces covered by burkas or niqabs which conceals the visual identity of the voter.

My campaign office also received calls from voters who received multiple voting cards, all with various addresses and polling locations. This type of mistake opens the door for one person to vote more than once if identification is not carefully scrutinized.

These problems were not unique to our riding of Haldimand-Norfolk, in fact there were reports of such frustrations right across Ontario. Because I do not have authority to make changes to the elector list, my office would refer confused would-be voters to the local Returning Office. In most cases the local Returning Office settled the score but in some situations, the rules and regulations kept first-time voters, college/university students and frustrated residents from casting their vote.

On another note, I heard from parents and members of the community who feel schools should not be used as polling locations for the sake of children’s safety. I received one letter from a principal who was concerned with the increased traffic inside and outside of the school and worried how he would ensure the students’ safety on election day. I did write to Elections Ontario on behalf of this particular principal, his students and their parents.

My campaign manager and I will be writing a subsequent letter detailing some of the issues outlined in this column.

Although many of us who are political junkies enjoy the adrenaline rush that elections bring, it may be a blessing in disguise that there will be another four years before Ontarians go to the polls again.

When you are dealing with masses of people as in an election, it is nearly impossible to have everything work perfectly. However, with every problem there is an opportunity -- Elections Ontario has four years to listen to the electorate and make any required changes to create a better system that is fair for all.