The federal government is not ruling out the idea of changing the electoral law to cut short militant attempts to add as many names as possible to a ballot, after the confirmation of a record number of candidates in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun.
While voters in this Montreal riding are being actively courted by the major federal parties, they will be required to be a little more focused than usual to put an X in the right place. No fewer than 91 candidates will appear on the ballot, according to the official count by Elections Canada.
The vast majority (at least 77) are actually participating in a protest movement against the voting system that consists of ridiculously inflating the list of candidates registered for a by-election. Volunteers from the pan-Canadian Longest Ballot Committee campaign have solicited the 100 signatures of local voters required by law for each of them.
The LaSalle-Émard-Verdun seat has been vacant since the resignation of former Justice Minister David Lametti, who was ousted from cabinet last summer. Observers expect the by-election, scheduled for September 16, to be a test of Justin Trudeau’s support in Montreal, after his defeat in another Liberal stronghold, Toronto-St. Paul’s, in June.
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc has indicated that he is open to amending the Elections Act to limit the number of frivolous candidates who disrupt voting, but only if recommended by Elections Canada. The independent body is expected to release its full report on this summer’s byelections next year.
“We will pay attention to the recommendations made in the report […] and will take stock, in due course, of any changes to the Canada Elections Act that may prove appropriate to ensure better access to voting,” said its spokesperson, Jean-Sébastien Comeau, in a statement.
“Extreme confusion”
The presence of too many candidates means that voters who are motivated to vote could have difficulty finding their way once they are in the voting booth with an oversized ballot, fears Jean-Pierre Kingsley, who was Canada’s chief electoral officer from 1990 to 2007.
“What is most regrettable about this initiative is that we are making the voters pay in the end. It creates confusion, I would say, that is extreme,” he denounces.
The paper given to Montreal voters could match, or even surpass, the imposing ballot used in Toronto — St. Paul’s, which measured more than 90 cm (35.5 inches) long and 30 cm (12 inches) wide.
Mr. Kingsley has overseen several electoral reforms over the years, but admits he did not anticipate an invasion of citizens from across the country ready to run in a by-election like the one in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun. He also has a hard time calling this kind of campaigning for proportional representation. According to him, this type of campaign will instead create anger against the cause.
“In addition, it makes the ballot very difficult to handle with the electoral agent. Election workers, in the polling stations, are forced to dissect all of this afterwards,” and this, after having already worked a shift of more than twelve hours on election day, he emphasizes. In an email, Elections Canada assures that the counting will be completed on the evening of the vote, but warns that it could require more time than usual.
Little room for maneuver
Despite these irritants, it would be very difficult for a government to put up new barriers to running as a candidate, since section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifies that every citizen is eligible for legislative elections.
“Historically, virtually all eligibility requirements have been invalidated by the courts,” warns Bruno Gélinas-Faucher, a law professor at the University of New Brunswick.
For example, the requirement for a refundable deposit of $1,000 for candidates has already been invalidated by the Court. It would be equally unconstitutional to force candidates to run in the riding where they reside, believes the expert in the Electoral Act. “The courts have a hard time deciding what constitutes a frivolous candidacy or not,” adds Bruno Gélinas-Faucher.
For his part, Jean-Pierre Kingsley proposes more targeted changes, such as forcing aspiring candidates to present 100 signatures of voters who have not already supported another candidacy. It would also be realistic to associate only one candidate per official agent, he believes.
Such a measure would certainly complicate the task for the 77 candidates in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun who share the same official agent, Tomas Szuchewycz, and who had the right to solicit the support of the same 100 voters. The leader of the satirical Rhinoceros party, Sébastien “CoRhino” Corriveau, admitted to the Duty that he collects these signatures himself with the help of a handful of volunteers.