OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – A so-called longest ballot “protest” of over 200 candidates in an upcoming federal by-election in which Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is running for a seat as an MP failed.
On Monday, July 28, Elections Canada issued a notice regarding the August 18 by-election in Battle River-Crowfoot, Alberta, stating that due to the long list of names, electors will have to handwrite in who they vote for.
“As a result of the high number of candidates in Battle River-Crowfoot (Alberta), electors voting at advance or election day polls will vote using an adapted ballot,” Elections Canada announced.
The “adapted ballot” will feature of blank space where electors can write the name of their preferred candidate.
“This will replace the typical list-style ballot, on which electors mark a blank circle next to the name of the candidate of their choice,” Elections Canada explained.
For a vote to “count,” electors must write the name of their candidate of choice. As long as the elector’s intention is clear, their vote will be counted, even if they misspell the candidate’s name.
If an elector chooses, they can write the name of the candidate’s political party.
“But if the elector writes only the party’s name, their ballot cannot be counted — it must have the name of the elector’s preferred candidate,” Elections Canada noted.
The change to the ballot system, which normally has names printed on one sheet, with electors being able to check a box, comes after more than 200 candidates put their names forth to run in the by-election.
A group called the “Longest Ballot Committee” promised to, and then went ahead with, helping to register protest candidates against Poilievre in the by-election in the Alberta Battle River-Crowfoot riding, just as they did in his former Ottawa-area Carleton riding in April’s election.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Conservative MP Damien Kurek officially resigned as an MP in the Alberta federal riding of Battle River-Crowfoot in a move to allow Poilievre to run the by-election to reclaim his seat in Parliament.
Kurek won his riding in the April 28 election, defeating the Liberals by 46,020 votes with 81.8 percent of the votes, a huge number.
Poilievre had lost his Ottawa seat to his Liberal rival, a seat he had held for decades, that many saw as putting his role as leader of the party in jeopardy. He stayed on as leader of the Conservative Party.
Poilievre is originally from Calgary, Alberta, so should he win the by-election, it would be a homecoming of sorts.
