The case of five McGill University students who were refused the right to vote in the Quebec election went before the court Thursday morning and should be decided on by Friday. Constitutional lawyer Julius Grey requested an emergency injunction to allow the students to vote because Thursday was the last day to make revisions to the list of electors before Quebecers go to the polls on Monday. Because the students will only find out after the revision deadline whether they can vote or not, a legal mechanism could be used to permit them to vote in the event that the judge rules in their favour. But the lawyer for the director general of elections argued that the revisors have some judicial and authoritative powers, and ruling against them could call into question the entire voter registration system.
According to the student unions at McGill University and Concordia University, as many as 200 students have reported being told they weren’t eligible to vote, and union representatives say they believe there could be many more unreported cases. All five students in court this morning have been living in Quebec for at least eight months.
One of them was born in Quebec and moved back three years ago, another is in the process of incorporating a business in the province and another, Brandon Edge, is running as the registered candidate for the Green Party in the riding of Chomedey.
They were all turned down by revision officers, even though they brought birth certificates, passports, leases and even bank statements to prove they were eligible to vote.
Full Article: Court battle begins over McGill students’ voting rights – Quebec Votes 2014 – CBC.