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<a href="http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1532"><img src="../images/donatebutton.jpg"  width="156" height="30" alt="Donate to PEJ News"></a><br><br><b><font class="print-title">Suppressing the vote should lead to jail time: Kingsley</font></b><br /><br />
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<font class="print-sub">Canada News / Justice News<br />
<b>Date:</b> Mar 04, 2012 - 02:05 PM</font></center>
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<font class="print-normal"><DIV id=ViEtDeVdIvId style="POSTION:Relative; FONT-SIZE:12"><DIV style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; TEXT-ALIGN: left; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; COLOR: #000000; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; TEXT-DECORATION: none"><DIV id=storyHeader><H1><FONT size=3><U>Suppressing the vote should lead to jail time: Kingsley</U></FONT></H1><DIV class=byline><SPAN class=name>Global News/The West Block </SPAN><SPAN class=timestamp>Sunday, March 04, 2012 12:00 PM</SPAN>&nbsp; <A href="http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442593876">http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442593876</A><BR><BR>OTTAWA - Jail time should &quot;definitely be considered&quot; if the ongoing investigation into the robocalls affair finds voters were intentionally suppressed during last spring&#39;s federal election campaign, said the former head of Elections Canada. <BR><BR>&quot;I have not been quoted saying that often, even in my years at Elections Canada,&quot; Jean-Pierre Kingsley said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. &quot;This is at the very core of our system.&quot;<BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><br /><br />
<DIV id=ViEtDeVdIvId style="POSTION:Relative; FONT-SIZE:12"><P>Elections Canada revealed this week that it has received 31,000 complaints or inquiries relating to harassing or misleading calls during last year&#39;s six-week campaign. <BR><BR>Allegations that voters in some ridings were sent to incorrect or non-existent ballot boxes on May 2 have become the subject of a joint RCMP and Elections Canada investigation.<BR><BR>&quot;It&#39;s a constitutional right we have, to vote,&quot; Kingley said. &quot;And to see anyone trample on that, to see anyone try to influence that in a negative way is, in my view, something that is major.&quot;<BR><BR><A title="SOUNDOFF: What do you think of the allegations of voter suppression? We want to hear from you. " href="https://www.facebook.com/thewestblock/posts/200904023344071">SOUNDOFF: What do you think of the allegations of voter suppression? We want to hear from you. </A><BR><BR>Elections Canada will present a report to Parliament once it has concluded its investigation, at which point Canadians will learn whether there was a concerted effort to suppress the vote -- and whether there was one rogue volunteer behind that effort or if it was part of a larger conspiracy. <BR><BR>The numbers fluctuate, but Global News has confirmed 50 ridings across the country where voter suppression allegations have been made. <BR><BR>The complaints arise from two types of phone calls made to voters. <BR><BR>The first is what is being called a robocall, and is either a computerized voice or a recorded message sent to hundreds -- and perhaps thousands -- of voters. In other cases, live operators were at the other end of the line. <BR><BR>In both cases, the person receiving the call was reportedly incorrectly told their polling stations had changed at the last minute on election day.<BR><BR>Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the accusations are little more than an &quot;unsubstantiated smear campaign&quot; orchestrated by New Democrats and Liberals.<BR><BR>Harassing voters with robocalls is not illegal in itself, but trying to prevent someone from voting is illegal.<BR><BR>Under the Canada Elections Act, interfering with an individual&#39;s right to vote is punishable with a maximum of five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. The same maximum penalties apply to impersonating an official and misusing the voters list Elections Canada supplies.<BR><BR>Investigators will have to find proof not only of illegal tactics, but also who was behind them. <BR><BR>Allen Raymond, a former Republican operative in the United States who was incarcerated for his tactics, said that what he knows of the situation leads him to believe there was a systematic effort -- not one or two rogue campaigners. <BR><BR>&quot;Certainly, that smacks of the denial of civil rights, and I think it&#39;s certainly a devolution of the democratic process,&quot; he said.<BR><BR>The kinds of robocalls currently under investigation, he said, are part of a type of tactic that is dreamed up late one night in a campaign headquarters. <BR><BR>&quot;Someone thinks it&#39;s a great idea, and before you know it it&#39;s off and running,&quot; Raymond said in an interview on The West Block. &quot;That&#39;s certainly what happened in my situation.&quot;<BR><BR>Raymond was working for the Republican National Committee and jammed telephone lines of the Democratic party on election day in 2002. <BR><BR>The jammed phone banks had been set up to tell the electorate where to vote, when the polls where open and whether they could get a ride to the polling stations. <BR><BR>There was a subsequent federal investigation, which led to prosecutions and convictions. Raymond was incarcerated in a federal facility for three months for his involvement. <BR><BR>In Canada, new information is being unveiled every day, with the robocalls affair showing no sign of going away any time soon. <BR><BR>If anything positive can be taken from this controversy, Kingsley said, it&#39;s the reaction from Canadian voters.<BR><BR>&quot;The message is out,&quot; he said. &quot;Canadians will be on the watch, and political operatives will be very careful about what they do with our electoral system. And I think we will see them respecting the law, with integrity.&quot;<BR><BR>Follow The West Block on Twitter.</P><DIV id=storyContent><DIV class=storyText><DIV id=page1><DIV class=copyright><DIV class=copyright>� Shaw Media Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><P>Read it on Global News: <A style="COLOR: #003399" href="http://www.globalnews.ca/pages/story.aspx?id=6442593876#ixzz1oBT6fmIF">Global News | Suppressing the vote should lead to jail time: Kingsley</A> </P></DIV><br />
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