Christie Leblanc has lived at exactly the same address in Aylmer, Q.C. since 2002. She has voted in four federal elections since then, and received valid voter information cards at her doorstep every time. This year however, Leblanc not only failed to receive her voter card — when she called Elections Canada, she found herself registered at an address she hasn’t lived in for 25 years. “It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen,” she told National Observer after going through a lengthy process to have her information corrected. “It makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.” The local representative she spoke with told her that Elections Canada has had “a lot of problems” with registration in Quebec, particularly with rural ridings. When National Observer called Elections Canada however, media advisor Francine Bastien told a different story. She said Quebec has not experienced an unusual influx of complaints about voter registration, certainly not more than any other province.
“Actually in Quebec, we haven’t had very many of those,” she said. “It’s almost impossible to avoid little mistakes here and there, but there are no more this year than there have been in the past.”
Leblanc’s story is not unique however; in September, Quebec voter Geneviève Grenier notified media that she wasn’t registered at her Montreal address of 12 years, despite having voted in every election.
At the time, Elections Canada spokesman Serge Fleyfel told CBC it was the first time he’d heard of a case like this, but only days later, the news outlet reported Elections Canada “website glitches” that resulted in some rural voters being told they weren’t registered, even though they were.
Full Article: Quebec voter warns of registration complications | National Observer.