Introduction to election fraud
“This whole question of voter suppression — I don't think too many Canadians would have believed it would come to Canada 10 or 15 years ago.
... We had better start protecting our electoral system.”
—NDP Leader Tom Mulcair
I didn't think I would need to write four chapters on election
fraud but
it
appears to be so common and so blatant that there is imperative that it be brought into
the open.
There are few rules
Condominiums are private non-profit corporations and the owner meetings
are private meetings so the election procedures vary from condo to
condo so, unless there is a court challenge, the dirty tricks or
outright fraud stays a secret.
The Condominium Act gives little guidance on election procedures and
even Nathan's Company Meetings has only a few Rules. So much depends on
the integrity of the Chair and the property management staff that
collect the proxies and man the registration desk.
The Ministry won't get involved. Perhaps that will change once the new regulations come in force. We'll have to see.
Good faith
There seems to be a general reliance on personal ethics and a sense of fair play, a position that may be very naive indeed.
Ignorance
The average condo owners assumes that since we live in Canada, the
election process will be managed ethically so they do not suspect wrong
doing nor are they watching out for tricks, deception or outright fraud.
By-laws
The election process needs to be included in the condo's by-laws but
usually the by-laws say little or nothing about the handling of
proxies, how
scrutineers will be selected, the wording of the proxies and the right
of owners to campaign on the property.
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