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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