There are more than 200 people registered as candidates in the Alberta riding where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is running for a by-election next month, leading Elections Canada to require voters to write out their chosen candidate’s name in the ballot.
On Monday, Elections Canada announced that due to a “higher than usual number of candidates” in a Battle River–Crowfoot by-election on Aug. 18 voters will be using an adapted ballot.
Instead of the usual ballot that requires voters to mark an X next to their preferred candidate, it will feature a blank space, where electors will need to write who they’re voting for.
The organization has clarified that although the name of the party alone is not enough to count the vote, it will be flexible with name spellings, saying that the vote will be counted as long as the intention is clear.
“For their vote to be counted, electors must write the name of their candidate of choice. As long as the elector’s intention is clear, their vote will be counted, even if they misspell the candidate’s name,” Elections Canada said in an online statement.
A full list with the candidates’ names will also be displayed on every voting table, and the agency is offering accessibility accommodations for voters who might need them. Electors are also allowed to bring a caregiver, friend or relative to assist them with casting their ballots, and sworn-in workers will also be available to help.
“Elections Canada is aware that the changes to the ballot may reduce its accessibility for some electors. All regular accessibility tools will still be available, but some of them, such as the braille list of candidates and adapted braille voting template, will only be available on election day,” it said.
OVER 200 CANDIDATES REGISTERED
The announcement comes as 214 candidates are currently registered to run in the riding’s by-election as of Tuesday afternoon.
The high number is not a mere coincidence, but a form of protest organized by advocacy group Longest Ballot Committee (LBC), which uses the tactic to call for electoral reform.
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Poilievre is running in the riding, after he lost his long-time seat in the Carleton riding, which he had held for over 20 years, to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy back in the federal election in February.
After Poilievre’s loss, Conservative MP Damien Kurek who had won the Battle River-Crowfoot riding decided to resign in order for the Conservative leader to run.
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With so many people registered, Poilievre has been calling on the government to implement legislation that can block long ballot protests, which he says are a “scheme.”
In a post on X earlier this month, when around 100 candidates were registered in the by-election, Poilievre addressed an open letter to Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Steven MacKinnon, asking for changes.
Among the modifications, the leader mentioned requiring 0.5 per cent of the local population to sign candidate nominations instead of 100 people, requiring one-time-only signatures, and restricting agents to representing one candidate at a time.
“This is not democracy in action. It is a deliberate attempt to manipulate the rules, confuse voters, and undermine confidence in our elections,” he said.
“These aren’t real candidates. They aren’t campaigning. They aren’t engaging with constituents. This is a coordinated scheme to weaponize the ballot and disrupt our democratic process.”
MODIFIED BALLOT SHOULDN’T MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO VOTERS
Speaking with Now Toronto on Tuesday, Professor and Chair of York University’s Department of Politics Dr. Dennis Pilon says that write-in ballots are usually used in different situations, such as for advanced voting or voting outside of the riding’s region.
According to him, the new system shouldn’t have a significant impact on voters, but it could make counting votes more difficult.
“There will be an impact in terms of how long it will take to count the votes. It will take longer to count the write-in ballots than would be the case if we were just working with regular x’s and checks.”
Similarly, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the Toronto Metropolitan University John Shields said that although this is an unusual situation, having to spell out names isn’t a new thing, and was a viable solution found by the government agency in this case.
“That is unusual, but Elections Canada certainly has the ability to do that, and I don’t think there’s too much objection to that ruling from Elections Canada on the part of the candidates, I think they realize that it’s an unusual situation.”
But at the same time, the new voting system could cause some confusion for voters, which could lead to an increased amount of spoiled ballots or even no-shows.
“For people who really don’t feel comfortable going in and writing in the candidate name, it might discourage some from voting.”
Despite Poilievre speaking out about the long ballot protests, Pilon also says that more names on the ballot shouldn’t make a big difference in election results.
“A protest, you know, doesn’t necessarily get you off the hook if you’re interfering with something. But then we have to evaluate, well, what’s the harm?” he said.
But according to the expert, the amount of candidates doesn’t seem to have made a difference in the past.
“There’s no evidence that this campaign has interfered with any voter being able to cast their ballot effectively…The fact that the ballot had so many names didn’t prevent people from finding who they wanted. It didn’t lead to an increase in the number of spoiled ballots. So, you know, those who say we need to outlaw this kind of need to demonstrate, factually, that this is having an impact that is negative.”
Meanwhile, Shields says that although upcoming changes are possible, some of Poilievre’s proposed measures could also discourage legitimate independent candidates from participating in the democratic process.
“Some changes to rules are useful, but you don’t want to discourage people from also running for office, even if they’re independents, right? You don’t want just the parties to control this whole system.”
