Websites offering online vote swaps not illegal, but Elections Canada says public should beware.
- - - STORY CONTINUES BELOW IMAGE - - -
The verdict is in; Elections Canada has concluded that online vote-swapping schemes aren't illegal. James Hale, a spokesman for the federal agency, said that the simple act of encouraging someone to vote in a particular way is all right under the Canada Elections Act. It's also permissible to invite people to participate in an organized strategic voting plan, whether on the Internet or by other means.
Nevertheless, they warn voters to be careful if they decide to participate for a number of reasons. One is that they could potentially be misled by someone acting under multiple or false identities to trick them into voting for a particular candidate. If such an act were to occur, Hale says the person who misled them would, be guilty of an offence under the Elections Act.
And although many say the vote swap seems to be on the up-and-up, experts say there's really no way of knowing for sure. That's because it's impossible to verify how people actually cast their ballots once they're in the voting booth.
Elections Canada started looking into the matter last week, after a Facebook group was set up with the aim of stopping Stephen Harper's Conservatives from winning a majority government on Oct. 14. The site listed 41 ridings that will likely be tight races and encouraged members to swap votes in order to stop the Tories from winning those contests.
Stay tuned for the latest.
zc
