Yes it's true. I voted and neither Obama nor McCain were on the ballot.
I cast my advance ballot for the Canadian election today and thought I'd share my experience with you. The actual election is on October 14.
Now while the Canadian election doesn’t have the level of global audience that the US one does, and while the Canadian electorate does not appear yet to "throw the bums out", I made sure that I exercised my right of franchise. A big thanks goes to my parents who made sure that they took me to the polling station when I was a kid for every election. But by also never taking us kids into the voting booth with them, and rarely sharing their choice with us kids, they taught us the power and integrity of a secret ballot. You could usually guess what choice they'd make by the discussions around the kitchen table or the TV in the den, but the end decision was theirs – alone in the sanctum of the booth.
The whole advance voting process was civilized and simple...more below the fold
Personally I think that the Conservatives will win again (but remember that many Canadian Conservatives would be considered on the left in the Democratic Party). However it will be a minority government. A large number of Canadians just don't trust Steve-O enough to give him a majority. How he competes against the Bloc Quebecois in Quebec not on the Island of Montreal, along with how he fares in the GTA commuter belt around Toronto will largely determine his margin of victory.
A few weeks back I got my voter registration card in the mail from Elections Canada (a non-partisan commission). My name was on it (or if I no longer lived at my address, it was addressed to the current resident). It had my riding (voting district) name, my polling division, information about where and when I could vote on October 14th, where and when I could vote in an advance poll (on Oct 3, 4 and 6), where my riding office is located along with hours (open 7 days a week) in case I wanted to vote in advance there by special ballot, information about voting by mail along with deadlines (6pm local time on October 7), a toll free contact number for my riding office, a contact number for constituents needing sign language, interpreter service or other assistance, along with a TTY number for the deaf/hard of hearing. It also explicitly expressed that you would need to verify your residency in the riding and polling division - but this does NOT have to be with photo identification.
About a week ago I got another piece of mail from Elections Canada stating the acceptable voter identification for the polls. There are three options available to voters:
Option 1
One original piece of identification issued by a government or government agency containing your photo, name and address.
Examples
Driver’s Licence; Health Card (Ontario only with cards that have photo and address); Provincial/Territorial Identification Card (non-drivers)
Option 2
Provide two original pieces of identification authorized by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Both pieces must contain your name, and one must also contain your address. Here is the list:
Identity Cards
Health Card; Social Insurance Number Card; Birth Certificate; Driver’s Licence; Canadian Passport; Certificate of Indian Status; Certificate of Canadian Citizenship or Citizenship Card; Credit/Debit Card with elector name; Canadian Forces Identity Card; Veterans Affairs Canada Health Card; Employee Card issued by employer; Old Age Security Identification Card; Public Transportation Card; Student ID Card; Library Card; Liquor Identification Card; Canadian Blood Services/Héma-Québec Card; Hospital Card; Fishing Licence; Wildlife Identification Card; Hunting Licence; Firearm Acquisition Card/Firearm Possession Card; Outdoors Card and Licences; Provincial/Territorial Identification Card; Local Community Service Centre Card (CLSC)
Original documents (containing name and address)
Credit Card Statement; Bank Statement; Utility Bill (residential telephone, cable TV, public utilities commission, hydro, gas or water); Attestation of Residence issued by the responsible authority of an Indian band or reserve; Local Property Tax Assessment; School, College or University Report Card or Transcript; Residential Lease, Residential Mortgage Statement or Agreement; Canada Child Tax Benefit Statement; Income Tax Assessment Notice; Insurance Policy; Government Cheque or Government Cheque Stub with elector name; Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid (T4E); Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions/Quebec Pension Plan Statement of Participation; Statement of Old Age Security (T4A) or Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits (T4AP); Statement of Benefits from provincial workplace safety or insurance board; Statement of Direct Deposit for provincial works or provincial disability support program; Vehicle Ownership; Vehicle Insurance; Attestation of Residence issued by the responsible authorities (shelters, soup kitchens, student/senior residences, long-term care facilities); Letter from public curator
Option 3
You can be vouched for by an elector whose name appears on the list of electors in the same polling division and who has an acceptable piece or pieces of identification. Both will be required to make a sworn statement. An elector cannot vouch for more than one person, and the person who has been vouched for cannot vouch for another elector.
Today I visited the advance polling station – just a 5 minute walk from my house. There was a large yellow sign showing that this building was a voting station. I went up to the polling clerks and the deputy returning officer (DRO). No polling is allowed to proceed without the DRO being present. I presented my voter card along with my drivers license. I was required to orally confirm my address, and swear an oath that I was indeed a resident of my polling division. I signed beside my name and was handed a folded paper ballot - and told to come back with it folded the same way when I returned. I went behind the cardboard screen, and voted with an ‘x’ for my preferred candidate. I double checked my choice, folded the ballot back up the same way and went back to the table with the clerks. The DRO ripped a part of the ballot off that had her signature on it (for auditing that there are no fake ballots or shenanigans when they count ballots at the closing of the polls.). I then took the remainder of the ballot and dropped it into the box in front of the clerks.
And with that I was done
No worries about if the electronic system read it correctly, or if Diebold would steal votes, or if someone would cage votes (heck if you have a notice from a homeless shelter that you’re living there you can vote in that riding), or if a partisan voting officer would lose the votes. There has been some controversy about whether women wearing niqabs or burkas need to show their face – but I respect the fact that if they don’t wish to show their face they can either vote by mail or have someone swear an oath for their eligibility.
Having been a poll clerk previously (but due to personal reasons am not able to this election) I trust the vote. The counting of votes is done in the open in front of party scrutineers (or officially "Candidate Representative"), and the tallies are counted and re-confirmed until the numbers on all the forms match each other. Copies of the ballot count reports from each station go into the ballot box, along with the ballots, the ripped off portions, the oaths and signatures (these go into a sealed bag), and any other info provided in the Election Canada kit that has to go into the box. The box is sealed in a way that the seal cannot be broken without it being obvious, and then delivered to the local Returning Office.
Voting that is tied or within 1/1000th of the votes cast after the first count is automatically subject to a second count conducted in front of a judge.
Each riding’s returning officer casts a separate ballot and is held in secret and is only used to break a tie.
For you election law geeks, here’s a copy of the Canada Elections Act.
To my fellow Canucks - even if you think all the candidates suck, at least get out there and vote. And to all the Kossians getting out the vote this year in the US, do everything in your power that no one is unfairly disenfranchised.