Controversy in Guelph’s 2011 Federal Election shows Canadian democracy remains an ongoing project, not a definite system
America has a voter suppression problem. North Dakota has a voter suppression problem. The south has a voter suppression problem. Georgia has a voter suppression problem. Can Canada have a voter suppression problem?
Kemp: the poster boy for undemocratic elections
The Republican nominee for the Georgia governor race, Brian Kemp, has been Georgia’s Secretary of State since 2010. Let it be noted that a major part of the Secretary of State’s role is to oversee public records of citizens and elections. When Kemp ran for governor in Georgia, he did not step down as the elected official overseeing the election he was running in.
Critics called it a power grab. At The Ontarion office we would call it an blatantly absurd conflict of interest. But somehow it gets worse. It is what Kemp did with his power as Secretary of State for his own political gains that makes democracy look like a strongman showpiece for the mancave — something that an authoritarian can nod to and say, “I played by the rules and I won.”
Angela Caputo of APM Reports found that Kemp as Secretary of State oversaw a “voter purge” in late July 2017. Eight per cent of Georgia’s voters were removed from the voter polls because they had not voted in prior elections. Many voters did not even know they had been dropped from the polls, and if they showed up at the polls, they would not be allowed to vote. In a grossly undemocratic move, Kemp removed these voters eight months after he announced his governor candidacy.
It gets even worse with Kemp’s “exact match” policy. The Associated Press reported more than 50,000 new voters were stuck in a “pending” status because their voter registration forms did not precisely match personal information on the government databases (again let’s remind ourselves Kemp oversees these databases). If there is a missing hyphen, a difference between a married and a maiden name, or if a name is misspelled then voters can be flagged. The Associated Press found that nearly 70 per cent of the registrants stuck in a pending status were African-Americans (who predominantly vote Democrat).
Through court proceedings, citizens were eligible to vote as long as proper photo identification matched their voter registration, the New York Times reported. However, for some voters, getting a letter from the State saying their voter registration is pending may have been enough to deter people from travelling to the polls.
After a not-so-sobering week following the midterm elections, a judge has ordered a review of all provisional ballots in the state of Georgia, according to the Washington Post. Provisional ballots are provided to voters in instances where there is a question about voter eligibility. In Georgia, most citizens were unsure if their vote would count. The majority of these provisional votes were cast by minority voters.
Kemp’s race is everything wrong with the democratic process in these seemingly undemocratic times. Voter suppression, lying to citizens, disproportionately attacking minority voters, weaponizing voting policies, and even spreading misinformation (Kemp as the acting chief election official for Georgia launched an investigation into the democrats’ “failed attempt at hacking” into election registry system breach).
The “Pierre Poutine” Controversy
In Canada, we like to distance ourselves from all the undemocratic noise drifting its way up from America. We like to think that we are different from the States; our institutions are stronger and our people are smarter, our parties more democratic. But still, the question remains: can it ever happen in Canada? The answer hits close to home: it already did — in Guelph.
In 2011 during the federal election robocalls were made to 7,000 voters in the region incorrectly informing them that their voting station had changed, the National Post reported. The unassuming voters were sent to the Quebec Street Mall instead of their regular polling station.
The calls came from the fraudulent name of “Pierre Poutine” from a fake “separatist street” somewhere in Quebec. The name is at worst offensive and at best a bad homage to a beloved poutine spot in the city. The calls were then directed through an automated call center in Edmonton straight to thousands of Guelph’s phones the morning of the election.
Michael Sona, the former conservative campaign worker in Guelph, was found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison and 12 months probation for his role in the robocalls; Sona was the only one charged and found guilty by the courts but Justice Hearn, who sentenced Sona, did not believe he acted alone. CBC reports that Sona bragged to fellow party members about the calls.
The Liberal Party of Canada won in Guelph despite the robocalls. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Similar calls in the 2008 election in Saanich-Gulf Islands, B.C., arguably swung the election after over 3,000 (likely liberal-leaning) citizens were tricked into voting for someone who pulled out of the race but remained on the ballot. The conservative candidate won that race.
Protecting democracy takes a Nation
Robocalls seem like a petty gag involving prank calls compared to Kemp, it is necessary that Canadians remain vigilant to protect democracy. The court proceedings, the public pressure, and constant reminders of the “Pierre Poutine” controversy are integral to the fabric of our democratic institutions. A political party cannot try to swing the election through deceiving tactics, as it undermines everything about the values and ideals of democracy.
Lying, suppressing, and spreading misinformation are power moves used by authoritarian-leaning regimes, and if we leave those with power, or those trying to seek power, unchecked, we will see our institutions crumble.
Institutions do not exist in a vacuum, citizens form its pillars, and when citizens are targeted, we cannot leave it to somebody else. In a democracy it is not the State’s job to keep checks and balances on political parties. It is not the State’s job to call out the undemocratic bullshit. It is our job to call these abuses out, our job to get angry, our job to use our vote wisely. We can’t forget that this is our democratic project.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/ The Ontarion and photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons