open Secondary menu

Appendix 3Report on the delivery of voting services in Cat Lake, Poplar Hill and Pikangikum, Ontario, during the 44th general election

Other voting services incidents in Kenora

Grassy Narrows

In the community of Grassy Narrows, the polling place opened late on election day (at approximately 12:30 p.m. instead of 8:30 a.m.). The deputy returning officer (DRO) for this polling place was expected to pick up the election materials at the returning officer's (RO) office the day before election day but did not do so due to illness. On the morning of election day, the RO couriered the materials to the community, and another DRO opened the polling place once the materials were received. After a conversation with the Chief of Grassy Narrows, the RO determined that it was not necessary to extend the polling place hours beyond 8:30 p.m.; all electors were in the community and would have been able to arrive at the polling place by the scheduled close of polls, and they would have been allowed to vote if they were still in line at 8:30 p.m.

Wabauskang

In the community of Wabauskang, five electors received voter information cards directing them to a polling station far from their residence, even though there was a polling place in their community. Subject matter experts on the National Register of Electors have confirmed that this error occurred because identical addresses from different communities were incorrectly geocoded1 in the Register.

Some of the five electors chose not to vote because they did not think that they could get to their incorrectly assigned polling station on election day. Others tried to vote at the poll closest to their community, but they were turned away as a result of poor communication and/or inadequate poll worker training.

The information on voter information cards should not by itself be used to determine an elector's eligibility to vote. A registration officer at the polling place would have been able to update the affected electors' addresses and allow them to vote, provided that they had accepted identification. They should not have been turned away.

Footnote

1 Geocoding is the process of linking an elector's residential address to a riding and polling division.