That's All Right?

Isn't that amazing, Elections Canada which is such a stickler for form and sticking to the letter of the law relents when it suits its purpose. All in the interests of benign helpfulness.

To encourage university students to option their voting privileges. Can this mean that anyone can decide to set up a polling booth wherever they deem it might be useful? Might this mean that a local returning officer with an agenda of his own could manoeuvre opportunities on behalf of his own political choice?

After all, Elections Canada by law must give permission for the timing, dates and location of polling booths. They're held at schools right enough, but for the general voting public. And at an agreed-upon, by law, specific date. And dates of advance polling booths are also mandated by law.

So how does it happen that an impromptu and quite specific-located special ballot at University of Guelph is set up without the pre-knowledge and permission of Elections Canada?

A public-minded returns officer took it upon himself to locate and date and encourage Guelph University students to turn out and vote. And 700 votes were cast that day. It would be fascinating to have a count of those votes to determine how many were cast for specific parties.

So when the Conservatives - on the basis of the illegality of the vote - asked that Elections Canada void the event, the Liberals screamed their outrage that an initiative to encourage young Canadians to practise their citizenship obligations was being denied by those nefarious Conservatives.

And the response from Elections Canada was cool and unaccommodating.

"All information at our disposal indicates that the votes were cast in a manner that respects the Canada Elections Act and are valid. In light of the focus on youth and student electoral participation at the 41st general election ... a well-intentioned returning officer undertook a special initiative to create an opportunity at the University of Guelph to vote by special ballot."

Having little option but to agree, the Conservatives withdrew their request and accepted the decision of Elections Canada. And added :"We applaud the decision not to disenfranchise University of Guelph students because of errors by the local Returning Officer" rejoindered Guy Giorno, national Tory campaign chairman.

"At the same time, we are pleased that the rules for special balloting have been clarified and reconfirmed. The same rules should apply everywhere and be applied consistently across the country." Logically.

On the other hand, when Christian organizations appealed the dates of the advance votes which just happen to coincide with Easter, Elections Canada was less than accommodating, citing the law which stipulates precisely when those dates must be recognized in relation to voting day.

Interestingly enough, the NDP has declared it is interested in having an investigation launched into what precisely occurred at the university. For in the past, in 2006, the Liberals successfully had a special voting booth at the University of Toronto discounted.