# WARNING - Fraudulent email circulating regarding Canadian election day **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059 "2006-01-22T02:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/1 "2006-01-22T02:20:48Z")
[A fraudulent email](http://www.elections.ca/content.asp?section=med&document=jan2106b&dir=pre&lang=e&textonly=false) is circulating concerning election day for the Canadian federal election. The email says that voting will be held over a two-day period. This is false. Election Day is **Monday, January 23, 2006 only**. Elections Canada, [http://www.elections.ca/](http://www.elections.ca/) , is the official source for information regarding the election. Please pass this information on, and remember to vote on Monday, January 23. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/2 "2006-01-22T03:03:35Z")
Damn. I was going to vote on the 24th. I suppose you’re going to tell me that I have to be a Canadian too. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/3 "2006-01-22T05:12:23Z")
This URL should work: [http://tinyurl.com/bp5ao](http://tinyurl.com/bp5ao) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/4 "2006-01-22T06:25:02Z")
Do you think someone is trying to keep people out of the polls, to skew the election? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/5 "2006-01-22T06:31:50Z")
Since polling day is a weekday, is it also a public holiday to allow more people to vote? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/6 "2006-01-22T06:33:23Z")
It’s not a public holiday, but employees are entitled to paid time off to vote. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/7 "2006-01-22T06:37:05Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Do you think someone is trying to keep people out of the polls, to skew the election? I wonder. Perhaps this is aimed at new citizens voting for the first time? Before this election, I would have said they would tend to vote Liberal, but now I’m not so sure. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/8 "2006-01-22T16:39:03Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Do you think someone is trying to keep people out of the polls, to skew the election? Bet you a whole box of Timbits it’s an updated version of [this](http://www.snopes.com/politics/humor/voting.asp). ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/9 "2006-01-23T00:14:07Z")
Matt: Two years ago, I went to vote - I wanted to decline the ballot because I felt there was no party to vote for. When I went to the fellow behind the table, he said if I just handed the ballot back to him saying I decline, it would count as a spoiled ballot and garbage. How do I decline a ballot so that it says what I want it to: there is no party honest enough to vote for? I have checked Elections Canada and there is nothing there. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/10 "2006-01-23T00:34:22Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > It’s not a public holiday, but employees are entitled to paid time off to vote. But contrary to public belief, you are allowd 3 hours to vote _only_ if you are scheduled for the entire voting period (8:30 am to 8:00 pm) and have no opportunities to go otherwise. So no cutting out for 3 hours on your 9-5 shift! _grin_ (not you, matt\_mcl - I know you’re running) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/11 "2006-01-23T00:45:36Z")
> [@Canadiangirl](#): > > Matt: Two years ago, I went to vote - I wanted to decline the ballot because I felt there was no party to vote for. When I went to the fellow behind the table, he said if I just handed the ballot back to him saying I decline, it would count as a spoiled ballot and garbage. > > How do I decline a ballot so that it says what I want it to: there is no party honest enough to vote for? > > I have checked Elections Canada and there is nothing there. There is no special category for “declined ballot.” However, if you choose to spoil your ballot (for example by attempting to write in a candidate, by writing a comment on the ballot, by marking more than one box, or by marking no box), it will be counted as a spoiled ballot, a separate category. For each riding and each poll (every riding is divided into multiple polls), the official results will list how many votes each candidate got, how many ballots were spoiled, and how many electors there were. Spoiled ballots do not affect the results, but they are counted. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/12 "2006-01-23T00:47:07Z")
> [@Canadiangirl](#): > > Matt: Two years ago, I went to vote - I wanted to decline the ballot because I felt there was no party to vote for. When I went to the fellow behind the table, he said if I just handed the ballot back to him saying I decline, it would count as a spoiled ballot and garbage. > > How do I decline a ballot so that it says what I want it to: there is no party honest enough to vote for? > > I have checked Elections Canada and there is nothing there. By the strictest letter of the law, I think your only option would be not to vote. I didn’t realize it until today, but it is [illegal](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060121/eating_ballot_060122/20060122?s_name=election2006) to spoil a ballot. Of course, as the article indicates, it’s unenforceable unless you’re public about it, but you’re wasting your effort trying since they don’t get counted anyway. Pity there’s no Rhinoceros party any more - it was a good way to “spoil” a ballot. I suppose you could use the Marijuana party if they are running in your riding (they are in mine). ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/13 "2006-01-23T02:42:50Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Pity there’s no Rhinoceros party any more - it was a good way to “spoil” a ballot. I suppose you could use the Marijuana party if they are running in your riding (they are in mine). No Marijuana Party candidate in [mi](http://www.elections.ca/scripts/pss/InfovoteMain.aspx?L=e&ED=35023&EV=25&EV_TYPE=1&PC=&Prov=&ProvID=&MapID=35023&QID=-1&PageID=11&TPageID=)[ne](http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&ned=ca&ie=UTF-8&q=etobicoke-lakeshore&btnG=Search+News), but there _is_ a Marxist-Leninist candidate, Janice Murray, who seemed in a bit over her head at the all-candidates meeting. (The Communist candidate, Cathy Holliday, didn’t show.) In addition to them, I get to choose from:[ul][li]the parachuted-in former Torontonian turned ex-Harvard academic, [Michael Ignatieff](http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&ned=ca&q=ignatieff&btnG=Search+News), running for the Liberals[_]local boy John Capobianco, running for the Consevatives[_]Phil Ridge running for the Greens[\*]Liam McHugh-Russell running for the NDP.[/ul]Liam kicked ass at the all-candidates meeting, speaking with more fire and charisma than the rest of them put together. Ignatieff started off talking about the environment, and quite frankly sounded a lot greener at the start than the Green candidate. The Green candidate talked a lot about the immigrant experience and helping immigrants settle, and sounded a lot like what I expected the Liberal to. The Conservative started off with the usual Conservative themes of lower taxes and getting criminals off the streets. And the Marxist-Leninist candidate talked about reclaiming personal power from the corporations and ruling elite.[/li] Who, oh who, am I going to choose? Not the Conservative. I disagree with the Conservative party’s stance on gay marriage and a lot of other things. Not the Liberal. I don’t like the way he was inserted into the riding by the national leadership over the wishes of the local riding association. Not the Marxist-Leninist or Communist. As usual, it comes down to, do I vote Green, or do I vote NDP. I’m running out of time to decide. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/14 "2006-01-23T02:47:42Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > By the strictest letter of the law, I think your only option would be not to vote. I didn’t realize it until today, but it is [illegal](http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060121/eating_ballot_060122/20060122?s_name=election2006) to spoil a ballot. I think CTV is overinterpreting the statute. As far as I can tell, improperly marking a ballot (for example, attempting to write in a candidate or some other message, voting for more than one person on the same ballot, or not voting for anyone) would not be the same thing as “defacing” it; that would seem to me to mean mutilating the ballot in such a way as to disrupt the voting process. After all, as you point out, they have no way of prosecuting people who mark their ballot so as to spoil it; but it’s fairly obvious if it’s been cut into paper dolls. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/15 "2006-01-23T03:02:28Z")
As support, let me point out that the [_Canada Elections Act_](http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/E-2.01/) draws a distinction between spoiled and defaced ballots. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/16 "2006-01-23T04:14:56Z")
When I checked polling times on Friday as the office was deciding who’d come in late and who’d go early so as to allow us all a chance to get to the polls, I was surprised to see that one of the frequently asked questions about voting was **Is someone allowed to eat a ballot?** No, thanks, despite the diet, I’m not that hungry. > [@](#): > > Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act. These rules are part of a system of unobtrusive checks and balances that are intended to protect the integrity of the voting process and Canadians’ trust in the integrity of the electoral system. The relevant procedures provided by the Act are summarized below. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/17 "2006-01-23T04:20:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Eating a ballot, not returning it or otherwise destroying or defacing it constitutes a serious breach of the Canada Elections Act. These rules are part of a system of unobtrusive checks and balances that are intended to protect the integrity of the voting process and Canadians’ trust in the integrity of the electoral system. The relevant procedures provided by the Act are summarized below. Ah, dammit! Do they say anything about masturbating with it? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/18 "2006-01-23T04:26:15Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Do they say anything about masturbating with it? Oh great. Now I’m going to be having nightmares about Stephen Harper again. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/19 "2006-01-23T04:57:04Z")
Bwah! ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059/20 "2006-01-23T14:16:48Z")
I guess my issue is: how do I let the “government” know that i feel there is no one to vote for? Voting is important but, when there’s no party to vote for, what do you do? I’m definitely not in agreement with “voting for the least of three evils” just to vote. When there was a low turnout last election, they tried to blame it on the weather so they’re obviously not getting the message through not voting! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/warning-fraudulent-email-circulating-regarding-canadian-election-day/341059.md?page=2)