[RCO]

( liberals new strategy , if you don't like the results fight them in court ? its tough to say if this court case is going anywhere , in another article the chief election officer Maynard said the results were legitimate . )


Etobicoke Centre case turns spotlight on electoral safeguards

Former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnevskyj goes to court over alleged voting irregularities

By Leslie MacKinnon, CBC News

Posted: Apr 23, 2012 5:08 AM ET


Related Stories
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Former MP challenges results6:40


Can Canada's electoral system, held up as a model of fairness and integrity in developing countries, be rigged?

That's a question that may come up when former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnevskyj goes to court Monday to seek to have the federal election result overturned in the Toronto area riding of Etobicoke Centre, on the grounds that there may have been voting irregularities or fraudulent or corrupt illegal practices.

A three-time MP, Wrzesnevskyj lost to Conservative MP Ted Opitz on May 2 last year.

Wrzesnevskyj's case aims to show that in Etobicoke Centre, dozens and dozens of people voted without providing any evidence showing where they lived. The case alleges dozens more registered to vote on Election Day in one part of the riding, but were on the voters’ list in another part of the riding — and that at least five people appear to have voted twice. In all, 181 votes are being disputed.

Borys Wrzesnevskyj lost Etobicoke Centre by just 26 votes in a riding where over 50,000 people cast their ballots.

Ruling could trigger by-election

Wrzesnevskyj isn't alleging that fraud necessarily took place. But he’s trying to prove there were enough "irregularities" so that at least 26 votes, or more, should be discounted, triggering a byelection.
Former Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj has been fighting the results of the 2011 federal election. He lost in the riding of Etobicoke Centre by 26 votes to Conservative Ted Opitz. (CBC)
Conservative MP Ted Opitz is countering that clerical errors are made in all elections, and that just because documentation can't be found for some voters doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

His defence goes on to say that, "If every mistake or error is an 'irregularity' then the results of numerous elections will be open to challenge."

The judge does not have to find that fraud took place, but will be asked to rule about whether there are enough questions about the Etobicoke Centre vote to warrant a do-over.

But the case raises questions about how susceptible the electoral system is to errors or even vote fraud.

One returning officer in another riding, who didn't want his name used, said Canada's electoral system is fair, but is open to abuse.

'It's an honour system'

"To a certain extent it's an honour system," he told CBC News. "If someone was really, really determined they could probably vote two or three times."

For instance, he pointed out, if the system shows that someone has already voted in an advance poll, and they show up on Election Day claiming that their name was crossed off the electors’ list accidentally, they can be sworn in and permitted to vote, possibly for the second time.

He added that if people were cheating in large numbers it would be noticed.

But fraud on a small scale, even a minuscule scale, happens — and Elections Canada knows it.

Between 1979 and 2006, Elections Canada recorded a handful of convictions for voter fraud: one conviction for impersonating another voter; four for voting when unqualified; and five for voting twice.

After the 2000 election, Elections Canada examined a sample of 786 poll books (a record of what happens on Election Day) and found 27 instances where voters claimed that they either were mistakenly marked as someone who’d already voted, or someone voted in their name.

Lower voter turnout makes manipulation possible

These few instances of possible voter fraud were one reason why the voting rules changed in 2006 so that even people with voter identification cards who are on the electors’ list must show proper ID at the poll.

Andre Turcotte of Carleton University, who has studied voter manipulation, says that stuffing ballot boxes can work when it's tied to turnout. "If you had an electorate that voted in the regular 80 per cent, when we used to have 75 to 80 per cent turnout, targeting specific voters, it's probably impossible ... to make a difference at the ballot box.

"But if you start looking at 50 per cent turnout, close races, then the numbers you need to move to make a difference are more in reach of an organization."

Elections Canada has to deal with the impossible-to-failsafe task of hiring 200,000 people to undergo some training and then work one extremely long Election Day. It's a balancing act to prevent election fraud and at the same time carry out what Elections Canada sees as its prime objective: ensure that every Canadian who is eligible is able to exercise what is a constitutional right.

But, in some circumstances, given the frailties of 200,000 temporary workers and the will to attempt to manipulate the vote, adding voters is not inconceivable.

Hope for incompetent officials who allow you to register without proper ID, who don't check the address you give, who allow someone to vouch for multiple voters. Scatter your attempts across a number of polls. The worst that can happen is that you’ll be turned away. The best: you may be able to vote twice, and in nail-biter elections, every vote counts.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politic.....innon.html

[RCO]

Former Liberal MP challenges election defeat in court


The Canadian Press

Published Monday, Apr. 23, 2012 4:32AM EDT





A former Liberal MP goes to court today to challenge his defeat in last year's federal election.

Borys Wrzesnewskyj's challenge marks the first time a court has been required to rule on a contested election under a new section of the Canada Elections Act that was added in 2000.

Part 20 stipulates that an elector or candidate may seek to invalidate a result if it was affected by irregularities, fraud, corrupt or illegal practices.

More related to this story
•Harper denies wrongdoing as NDP calls alleged election fraud ‘a disgrace’
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•Dirty tricks against Cotler trigger misconduct probe for Tory pollster

Mr. Wrzesnewskyj maintains at least 181 voters were improperly allowed to cast ballots in Etobicoke Centre, in some cases possibly more than once.

He lost by just 26 votes to Conservative Ted Opitz.

But Canada's elections watchdog says procedural irregularities shouldn't be sufficient grounds to overturn the results in the Toronto riding.

Chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand makes the argument in a submission filed in the court challenge.

He argues that Parliament did not intend the provision to be applied to “clerical errors” in filling out the paperwork required to ensure only eligible voters are allowed to cast ballots.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....le2410710/

[cosmostein]

I understand the argument that Mr. Wrzesnewskyj is trying to make;

However if this riding is given a by-election that I would imagine this opens the door for the Liberals and Conservatives to make the exact same argument in Scarborough—Rouge River.

The other issue is that Mr. Wrzesnewskyj's argument rests primarily on the fact that fraud was committed and that fraud was committed to the benefit of the CPC candidate which will be very difficult to establish, especially in a riding that has been Liberal dominated since 1993.

Mr. Opitz counterargument is a very simple one;
Perhaps the 181 "improper" votes cast according to Mr. Wrzesnewskyj camp are the reason he only won by 26 votes rather then over 200.

For this riding's results to be turned over Mr. Wrzesnewskyj is going to need to establish that the irregularities existed and that they benefited the CPC.

[RCO]

former Toronto Liberal MP launches court challenge to overturn election results, alleging ID procedures ignored
Megan O'Toole Apr 23, 2012 – 12:21 PM ET | Last Updated: Apr 23, 2012 6:07 PM ET


Wikimedia Commons
Former Etobicoke-Centre MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj.


The confidence of the Canadian electorate is at stake in a court challenge launched by a former Toronto MP who lost his seat by 26 votes, a Superior Court judge heard Monday.

Borys Wrzesnewskyj, who represented Etobicoke Centre until Conservative Ted Opitz defeated him last spring, wants the election results overturned in light of “irregularities and illegalities” that he says affected more than 180 votes. Among a host of issues, Mr. Wrzesnewskyj alleges some electors voted without properly proving their identity, voted twice or voted in a polling division outside of where they reside, contrary to the Elections Act.

“This isn’t a Liberal or a Conservative issue. This is an issue that touches everyone,” Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, told Justice Thomas Lederer. When proper procedures are not followed, he said, the rights of the electorate are “chipped away,” ultimately discouraging more people from casting a ballot.

“If people have no confidence in the process, it’s pretty doubtful they’re going to participate,” Mr. Tighe told the court.


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The case marks the first time a judge has been asked to rule on a contested election under a relatively new section of the Elections Act that allows an elector or candidate to seek to overturn a result if it was affected by irregularities, fraud, corruption or illegalities.

During the hearing, scheduled to wrap up by Friday, a lawyer for chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand is expected to argue that “clerical errors” are not a sufficient basis to overturn election results. In a factum filed in advance of Monday’s hearing, lawyer David Di Paolo dismissed as “unfounded” Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s suggestion that election officers were inadequately trained.

“Administrative and clerical errors in elections will be common, and indeed inevitable and it is essential that only those consequential to the result be used to overturn an election,” the factum notes.

Lawyer Tom Barlow, who is representing Mr. Opitz, said his client does not believe the mistakes made in Etobicoke Centre merit a new election.

“There is no reason to throw out the game because there was an off-side in one polling place,” Mr. Barlow said outside court.

Judge Lederer also appeared to question Mr. Wrzesnewskyj’s case, saying, “If we press this too hard, every time [there is a narrow plurality] we’re going to have one of these processes, and that can’t be something that would instill confidence.”

Mr. Tighe, who is expected to complete his arguments tomorrow, said the case will have a “far-reaching impact” beyond Etobicoke Centre.

“The right to vote is of course sacrosanct in this country [and] when the process isn’t followed, the qualified and entitled electorate lose part of their right,” he told Judge Lederer, who presided over the hearing and frequently interjected with questions.

At one point, Judge Lederer pointed out that in an electoral system that employs thousands of people across the country, “it would appear inevitable” some mistakes would be made.

Mr. Wrzesnewskyj listened attentively throughout the hearing and spoke briefly to reporters outside the small courtroom, which was packed Monday with observers.

“An election is the fundamental bedrock upon which our democracy is built,” he said, “and if we don’t have confidence in that process, then we don’t have confidence in our elected representatives.”

National Post

http://news.nationalpost.com/2.....s-ignored/

[hatrock]

Well, that didn't go very well today.

[cosmostein]

Logically appealing it to the Supreme court would be a good route to take as Moldaver and Karakatsanis are both seated;

However with the Liberals polling in third place in Ontario, maybe you just go to the mat and get it done?

[Progressive Tory]

[cosmostein]

[RCO]

pending a successful appeal there will have to be a by-election here in the next 6 months , toronto hasn't been as favourable to the conservatives ever since ford got in . but this is his home riding , i don't know be another close race if it does happen again . wildcard is the ndp who never done well there but doing well in the polls .

i'm not sure what kind of presidence this sets , are we going to see every candidate who loses by 20 or less votes fight the result in court until they win again ? these defeated candidates should just move on and except the fact they did not win instead of wasting tax dollars on new by-elections .

[Progressive Tory]

[Progressive Tory]

[Progressive Tory]

Forum Research has already done a poll that shows the Liberals with a 10 point lead.

[RCO]

[Progressive Tory]

[cosmostein]