The federal Conservative government recently announced the Fair Elections Act, a controversial proposal to amend the Canada Elections Act. Ironically, the act is being criticized for taking steps to suppress voter turnout by implementing new rules for verifying who is an eligible voter at the polls. This new piece of legislation poses significant issues for minority voters, low-income families, and, unfortunately, students. At present, eligible voters can vouch for another person’s eligibility, such as a roommate or neighbour, at polling stations, allowing them to vote. The Conservatives’ proposal places unnecessarily stringent limits on reasonable and useful forms of identification, which will inevitably prevent young people from voting. One form of identification targeted for elemination is vouching. While the act will leave 39 identification options, these are often onerous or impossible for students or marginalized voters. Other identification options — including providing phone bills, bank statements, or ID — work for voters who have a well-established life in the riding. Students — who often live in a given riding for only one federal election, and marginalized citizens — who might not have a mailing address or ID — rely on vouching to facilitate their democratic right.
While it has been presented as a measure to crack down on voter fraud in Canada, the Fair Elections Act really represents a direct attempt on the part of the federal Conservatives to suppress voter turnout among groups that habitually oppose them. By ending the practice of voter vouching, the government risks effectively disenfranchising entire demographics, from new citizens to students.
Another troubling detail is the lack of any convincing evidence that individual voter fraud is a major problem in Canada — one that calls for a legislative solution. The Conservatives have cited Elections Canada research, saying that it shows vouching is problematic. However, many experts have conivincingly argued that the Conservatives are distorting this research for their political purposes. That the Conservatives have chosen to target vouching, without proving that it is really a problem, speaks volumes on their motives. These are political, not public-spirited.
Full Article: The Varsity » Fair Elections Act would suppress the student vote.