In 2011, the Conservative Party won its majority by only 6,201 votes across 14 ridings.
With a Canada-wide voter turnout of 61.4 per cent, voters practically handed Stephen Harper another mandate by the act of just not showing up. Now, through an act of making it harder to vote, he seems to want voters to do the same again.
It has been argued in the courts and on the streets that the Fair Elections Act, formerly Bill C-23, called by some the Unfair Elections Act, will disenfranchise tens of thousands of Canadian voters by making it more difficult for voters to prove their residence and identity at polling stations. An Elections Canada voter’s card used in the past will not be accepted on October 19.
It’s a particular hardship for older voters living in seniors’ residences or long-term care facilities without required identification, which means they have to obtain and display a letter of confirmation of residence in order to vote.
The act also serves to make it harder for younger people, who traditionally vote for the New Democratic Party, Liberal Party or Green Party to cast their ballots. The requirement to provide proof of residence is particularly onerous to young voters who have become mobile in the search for ever dwindling employment. Some also live away from home attending secondary education institutions.
While the Fair Elections Act was taken to court, the bid to stop it was denied because of time constraints. As a result, fighting back against disenfranchisement requires voters to arm themselves with knowledge about the new requirements to vote. The first step is to determine whether they are on the voters’ list by visiting Elections Canada website.
On voting day, voters must have a valid piece of government-issued identification such as a driver’s licence, territorial identification card, passport or citizenship card. According to Elections Canada even a credit card will do. In lieu of any of those, acceptable identification can be anything with the voter’s name, in addition to a piece of identification, such as a cheque or telephone bill, with the voter’s name and address on it.
One lucky thing, though: given that we are currently near the mid-point of one of the longest elections in Canadian history, there should be more than enough time to get those identifications ready.
