The leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ), Éric Duhaime, issued a reminder to his supporters about the voting system on his Twitter account on Monday. In his publication, Mr. Duhaime emphasizes the importance of the measures necessary for the vote to be counted, and the use of the lead pencil provided by the Director General of Elections of Quebec (DGEQ) ignited the canvas and social networks of PCQ supporters.
The main fear of the voters in question behind the use of a pencil is mainly related to the erasable nature of the tool. Many of them claim not to have confidence in the vote counting system and decree the more favorable use according to them of the pen or the ink marker instead.
While on Facebook the tone is conversational, on the publication of the Conservative leader’s Twitter account, his fervent admirers express their need by emphasizing the need to “choose” and not to be “imposed” on a way to vote, according to them.
Make sure your vote counts! A ballot may be rejected if it:
➡️ was marked other than with the lead pencil handed out with the ballot (for example, with a pen or felt-tip pen) pic.twitter.com/fV3VIz4KD0
— Eric Duhaime (@E_Duhaime) September 26, 2022
However, some scrutineers emphasized the importance of using the lead pencil provided by the DGEQ. Christine Champagne, scrutineer for the October 3 election, says on the Facebook group Support Éric Duhaime, leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) that “voting with a pen [engendre un] rejected ballot”. She then writes that this information is “well mentioned in the training [de scrutatrice] “.
Others even went so far as to highlight the very strict rules of the DGEQ and the formal rules so that all votes are counted. In addition, the Élections Québec website clearly mentions that it is important for anyone who votes to use the lead pencil provided. “This lead pencil has been tested several times and chosen for its performance, in particular because it is particularly suitable for ballot paper. Elections Quebec uses this lead pencil to avoid rejections and to preserve the secrecy of the vote,” reads the Elections Quebec website.
Why use the DGEQ lead pencil?
And if some may still be skeptical about the use of lead pencil, the Elections Quebec site justifies this use by the fact that “lead pencil marks are not altered by water. They therefore remain intact if the ballot papers are accidentally wet (for example, in the event of water damage)”. With the torrential rains of the last few weeks and the fall well advanced, your vote will remain dry.