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No mail-in vote irks Creek man

MUNICIPAL ELECTION

A Roberts Creek man is accusing the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) of “voter suppression” by not allowing mail-in ballots in the Nov. 15 election.

Ken Knight said he was informed of the policy when he contacted the SCRD for an absentee ballot, as he and his wife Heather will be vacationing in California during the month of November.

“For every citizen there should be a reasonable provision to vote, and I was surprised we were not given that opportunity,” Knight said.

Both the District of Sechelt and the Town of Gibsons provide the option of mail-in ballots if residents are expecting to be absent for voting day and advance polls or if they have a physical condition “that affects their ability to vote at another opportunity.”

In Gibsons’ 2011 mayoral election, 51 people cast mail-in ballots, representing 2.7 per cent of the vote.

SCRD corporate officer Angie Legault said she was aware of about 10 to 12 requests for mail-in ballots this year, about double the number her office received in 2011.

Board chair Garry Nohr said directors had considered the option, but some had serious concerns.

“When the idea of the absentee ballot came up, the board was interested until we realized that there were some concerns we needed to work out,” Nohr said. “Security was a major concern for some board members and ballots being cast inappropriately. We felt we needed to look at security and time allocations, as ballots especially for rural areas would not only be done locally but off-Coast.”

Knight said the security argument is not valid. “Both Gibsons and Sechelt have managed to do this and there’s a process,” he said. “It’s fairly well established how this is done. It’s every bit as secure as when you go in person.”

Having the ability to vote is “just a principle thing in a democracy,” he added. “There’s all this talk about getting out to vote, so it seems to me we should not be blocking people from voting. Sometimes elections come down to a couple of votes. Everyone should have an equal right to vote.”