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Should political parties be barred from having any contact at all with voters on election day?
The question arises after revelations that some Liberal supporters in Ottawa West-Nepean and a riding in London received letters this week — apparently sent by Progressive Conservatives — directing them to the wrong polling stations.
The Ottawa West-Nepean letter was signed by Saxon Harding, a retired resident of Leslie Park. She did not respond to telephone messages Wednesday but told the CBC earlier that she “let the (Progressive Conservative) party send that out.”
Harding’s letter encouraged neighbours to join her in voting at St. Paul High School, 1.4 kilometres from Harding’s home. Her correct poll is at St. John the Apostle School at 30 Costello Ave., just down the street from where she lives, the Liberal party said.
Both Harding’s letter and a similar one sent to Liberal supporters in London North Centre were routed through the same postal centre in Toronto, raising questions about their veracity, said the Liberals, who have asked Elections Ontario to investigate.
Ontario Conservatives say the misleading letters were an innocent mistake.
Under Ontario’s Elections Act, it is illegal to do anything that prevents, impedes or interferes with a person’s ability to vote.
Andrew Willis, communications co-ordinator for Elections Ontario, said the agency thoroughly investigates complaints about Election Act violations when they arise.
But Elections Ontario’s concern extends only to activities that could suppress voting, Willis said. When it comes to getting qualified voters to the polls on election day, parties can try just about anything short of bribery.
“We have candidates who bring buses of voters into polling stations,” Willis said. “That definitely does happen. There are no restrictions on that.”
Some candidates have even been known to offer supporters free pizza or other low-level inducements to vote. And that’s OK, too, Willis said.
Ontario’s chief electoral officer, Greg Essensa, openly welcomes the efforts of political parties to encourage voting, Willis said.
“We do rely on the parties to get the voters out,” he said. “We want to make sure that while they’re doing that, they’re doing it as fairly as possible. So it is kind of a delicate balance.”
In closely contested ridings, the strength of a party’s election day “ground game” can often make the difference between victory and defeat.
Through canvassing and phone calls, parties try to identify likely supporters. On election day, volunteers do whatever they can to ensure those people get to the polls — checking lists at polling stations, for example, and going back to putative supporters who haven’t yet voted to offer rides or other assistance.
All of this is perfectly acceptable, said Jon Pammett, a political scientist at Carleton University.
“Mobilization is one of the primary functions of political parties,” Pammett said. “It provides a way for people to actively participate in politics. So I would not discourage political parties from doing their job during elections. However, they must abide by the rules.”
Anna Esselment, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, agrees that it’s “completely legitimate” for parties to help supporters get to the polls.
“If we’re concerned about voter turnout, parties are actually our best bet in terms of encouraging people to go out and mark a ballot,” she said.
Offering things like buses and free pizza is fair game if they boost the number of people voting, Esselment said. “Some people physically can’t get to the polls and they need a ride.”
Ultimately, voters cast a secret ballot, she noted. “These parties could be ferrying everybody to the polls and it turns out that none of them are voting for that particular party.”
Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, points out that political parties aren’t really interested in boosting voter turnout, which fell to a record low of 48.2 per cent in Ontario’s 2011 election.
“They want their supporters to show up and vote,” Wiseman said. “They would prefer if the supporters of their opponents stayed at home.
“If you show up at a door and that person says I’m not going to vote for you, you don’t encourage them to vote,” he said. “You mark down that they’re not sympathetic. You’re not going to call them on election day and offer them a free ride to the polls.”
If parties really wanted to boost voter turnout, they would make voting mandatory or offer a tax credit for voting, Wiseman said. They don’t do that, he said, “because there’s a contradiction between what they say and what they actually believe.”
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
查看原文...
The question arises after revelations that some Liberal supporters in Ottawa West-Nepean and a riding in London received letters this week — apparently sent by Progressive Conservatives — directing them to the wrong polling stations.
The Ottawa West-Nepean letter was signed by Saxon Harding, a retired resident of Leslie Park. She did not respond to telephone messages Wednesday but told the CBC earlier that she “let the (Progressive Conservative) party send that out.”
Harding’s letter encouraged neighbours to join her in voting at St. Paul High School, 1.4 kilometres from Harding’s home. Her correct poll is at St. John the Apostle School at 30 Costello Ave., just down the street from where she lives, the Liberal party said.
Both Harding’s letter and a similar one sent to Liberal supporters in London North Centre were routed through the same postal centre in Toronto, raising questions about their veracity, said the Liberals, who have asked Elections Ontario to investigate.
Ontario Conservatives say the misleading letters were an innocent mistake.
Under Ontario’s Elections Act, it is illegal to do anything that prevents, impedes or interferes with a person’s ability to vote.
Andrew Willis, communications co-ordinator for Elections Ontario, said the agency thoroughly investigates complaints about Election Act violations when they arise.
But Elections Ontario’s concern extends only to activities that could suppress voting, Willis said. When it comes to getting qualified voters to the polls on election day, parties can try just about anything short of bribery.
“We have candidates who bring buses of voters into polling stations,” Willis said. “That definitely does happen. There are no restrictions on that.”
Some candidates have even been known to offer supporters free pizza or other low-level inducements to vote. And that’s OK, too, Willis said.
Ontario’s chief electoral officer, Greg Essensa, openly welcomes the efforts of political parties to encourage voting, Willis said.
“We do rely on the parties to get the voters out,” he said. “We want to make sure that while they’re doing that, they’re doing it as fairly as possible. So it is kind of a delicate balance.”
In closely contested ridings, the strength of a party’s election day “ground game” can often make the difference between victory and defeat.
Through canvassing and phone calls, parties try to identify likely supporters. On election day, volunteers do whatever they can to ensure those people get to the polls — checking lists at polling stations, for example, and going back to putative supporters who haven’t yet voted to offer rides or other assistance.
All of this is perfectly acceptable, said Jon Pammett, a political scientist at Carleton University.
“Mobilization is one of the primary functions of political parties,” Pammett said. “It provides a way for people to actively participate in politics. So I would not discourage political parties from doing their job during elections. However, they must abide by the rules.”
Anna Esselment, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, agrees that it’s “completely legitimate” for parties to help supporters get to the polls.
“If we’re concerned about voter turnout, parties are actually our best bet in terms of encouraging people to go out and mark a ballot,” she said.
Offering things like buses and free pizza is fair game if they boost the number of people voting, Esselment said. “Some people physically can’t get to the polls and they need a ride.”
Ultimately, voters cast a secret ballot, she noted. “These parties could be ferrying everybody to the polls and it turns out that none of them are voting for that particular party.”
Nelson Wiseman, a political scientist at the University of Toronto, points out that political parties aren’t really interested in boosting voter turnout, which fell to a record low of 48.2 per cent in Ontario’s 2011 election.
“They want their supporters to show up and vote,” Wiseman said. “They would prefer if the supporters of their opponents stayed at home.
“If you show up at a door and that person says I’m not going to vote for you, you don’t encourage them to vote,” he said. “You mark down that they’re not sympathetic. You’re not going to call them on election day and offer them a free ride to the polls.”
If parties really wanted to boost voter turnout, they would make voting mandatory or offer a tax credit for voting, Wiseman said. They don’t do that, he said, “because there’s a contradiction between what they say and what they actually believe.”
dbutler@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/ButlerDon
查看原文...
