Barriers to voting

[A_Britishcolumbian]

after the recent municipal elections, it was brought to our attention that various locations for voting were requiring individuals to perform some sort of rite, recite some sort of secret poesy, before being allowed to vote.

now a person in prince george has discovered that another barrier exists that created a severe hindrance to voting if not completely eliminating the possibility of voting.

I infer from Monday's report of the election results that 76 ballots were cast by mail. My ballot was one of them, although it very nearly was not.

Since I was going to be away from Prince George for several weeks including election day and the dates of the advanced polls, I applied for a mail ballot package. Having not received it by Wednesday 12 November, I queried Deanna Wasnik (Deputy Chief Elections Officer) to whom the request had originally been sent, about when I might expect to receive it. In her reply, she indicated that it had been mailed on 31 October 2014.

I received my ballot on the morning of 13 November. It had been postmarked 3 November 2014. I promptly completed it and then tried to send it from Toronto to Prince George by the most expeditious means possible. By 10 am, I had been informed by the courier companies that I had contacted and by Canada Post that the earliest that delivery could be guaranteed was the following Monday.

At this point, I contacted Walter Babicz, Chief Elections Officer, for advice on how to get my ballot to Prince George. He was able to identify a service that could deliver from Vancouver to Prince George if I could get a courier from Toronto to deliver to that service in Vancouver. The first courier I contacted on this matter refused. Although they offered a service that would deliver to Vancouver in time, they indicated that they were not prepared to deliver to a competitor. Instead they offered an "executive" service that would deliver my ballot to Prince George for nearly $600, a far cry from the $1.80 that it would have cost me to mail my ballot had it been received in a timely fashion.

I did not give up. I identified the courier to Mr. Babicz who contacted them. In the meantime, I tried another courier. As I was explaining the situation, this courier told me that they could get my ballot to Prince George by 8 pm on Friday. By 3:30 pm Thursday, 13 November, my "mail" ballot was finally on its way to Prince George.

I also contacted Elections BC about this. They indicated that the running of the election was up to the Chief Returning Officer in each local government. Mr. Babicz indicated to me that the sending of the mail ballots was constrained by timelines set out by Elections BC. The total time period available for the sending and return of mail ballots worked out to 15 days. These timelines need to be revised in the context of the current realities of mail delivery by Canada Post. For some years now, mail posted after the Friday afternoon cutoff does not move from Prince George until the following Monday. Early November includes Remembrance Day, a statutory holiday. Ten days is not unusual for mail to reach its destination within Canada.

In elections for higher levels of government, I have voted by mail previously from outside Canada and found that there was more than enough time for my ballot to be mailed back. Elections BC should take note that other Canadian jurisdictions have established effective timelines for mail ballots.

In the end, it cost me nearly 35 times what the cost would have been had there been time to mail my "mail" ballot. I am fortunate enough to be in the position that I could afford to spend the money and the several hours it took in the effort to cast my ballot, but I cannot help but think of others who might not have these choices.

How many mail ballots were requested and not returned? Why?

Margot Mandy

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/opin ... -1.1622051

i believe we should be asking the same questions of the municipalities here in the okanagan.

How many mail ballots were requested and not returned? Why?

[goatboy]

What was this Rite or posey and where in particular did they have to recite it?

[A_Britishcolumbian]

secret because it was not predisclosed that it would be required, and secret because it is not published anywhere that anyone has shown that i know of.

viewtopic.php?f=99&t=59505

[A_Britishcolumbian]

i am sure if basran is serious about his new position, he will be quick to respond to this issue. gray will take his secrets to the grave, i would guess.

[goatboy]

Was the declaration just affirming your address and the fact that you are eligible to vote?

[alfred2]

bc is full of it, all it was declaration where you live and how long in bc and kelowna

[twobits]

bc is full of it

Anyone surprised?

[A_Britishcolumbian]

bc is full of it, all it was declaration where you live and how long in bc and kelowna

i am quite curious to know what 'it' is?

if all that was required was a verbal confirmation of eligibility and address, that doesn't sound at all like what people had described in that other thread, and to my knowledge it has not been disclosed anywhere that that was the case, just a verbal confirmation of eligibility and address.

even if that is the case, that that was all it was, the issue of the 'mail in votes' being possibly not counted due to canada post delays, and not enough time being prescribed for mail in votes to reach their destination has not been addressed.

i find it difficult to believe that only 86 people chose to vote by mail in prince george.

what were the numbers of mail in ballots sent out for kelowna, and west kelowna why not, and the number of mail in ballots counted, and as well the number of mail in ballots received too late?

[twobits]

i find it difficult to believe that only 86 people chose to vote by mail in prince george.

Why are you surprised that only 86 people in PG chose to vote by mail? Given the % turnout in civic elections, I am surprised that there was even 86 mail in ballots!
Personally, I am really tired of your troll tactics at stirring chit when there is nothing to stir.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

i am surprised because i know many people that live in prince george hat work elsewhere, and would have required mail in ballots to participate. as well i know of many business and property owners that do not live in prince george and would have required mail in ballots. i know many of them did request and get those ballots as well.

how many of them were counted is the question.

twobits, if you feel barriers to voting are not an important issue, you should probably be participating in another thread, maybe the totalitarian state of 'canada' thread.

if by troll you mean, "an ugly cave-dwelling creature depicted as either a giant or a dwarf", that is your option, but still i feel an uncalled for attack on my person. it is you that appears 'ugly' in your name calling.

beyond that, i would think 'cave dwelling' not be a good idea in bc, as radon gas is a genuine and serious threat here. i do not live in a cave.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

this is essentially all i could find regarding votes from the last civic elections.

http://www.election2014.civicinfo.bc.ca/2014/index2.asp

no information on spoiled ballots, no information on how many mail in ballots were sent out or received late.

this is a cover up folks.

[goatboy]

this is essentially all i could find regarding votes from the last civic elections.

http://www.election2014.civicinfo.bc.ca/2014/index2.asp

no information on spoiled ballots, no information on how many mail in ballots were sent out or received late.

this is a cover up folks.

Oh, another cover up, how surprising you would find it.

[Glacier]

The biggest barriers to voting are the comfy sofa and the 73 inch TV. Eliminate those out of people's lives, and voting would go up 50%.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

goatboy, if not a coverup, then what? such information should be freely available, there should be no need to use the foia to get basic information about election results.

glacier, i so agree with you. the funny thing is though, both the ndp and the bcliberals have independently developed voting systems for internet/cellular election/referendum voting, yet we the general public are subjected to an antiquated system that is biased against seniors, the poor, mobility challenged and people that travel.

[goatboy]

goatboy, if not a coverup, then what? such information should be freely available, there should be no need to use the foia to get basic information about election results.

glacier, i so agree with you. the funny thing is though, both the ndp and the bcliberals have independently developed voting systems for internet/cellular election/referendum voting, yet we the general public are subjected to an antiquated system that is biased against seniors, the poor, mobility challenged and people that travel.

Big difference between an inefficient system and your claims of a " cover up".