October 20, 2004

Universal Voter Lists

uncharted (email) at 11:11 AM

Was anyone else horribly disturbed by the fact that nobody really cared who you were when you went to vote on Monday? (And yes, I'm assuming that everyone voted). Being the good little citizen that I am, I brought not only the Voter Information Card that I received in the mail, but also my I.D. and a proof of address. Of course, none of it was needed...

I am appalled that the only proof we have that voting was conducted properly (as in, one vote per person in the area in which they live) are a bunch of sheets that say whatever the prospective voter wanted them to say at the time. There was nothing stopping me from making up 50 fake names and addresses, and poll-hopping all day casting votes for whomever I wanted.

I asked at the poll, and of course got the answer...but "it's a declaration"...a "legal document". Yes, that's right, because I'd be terrified that somebody might try to track down the fake person whose name I just made up on that oath I just signed. Gee...what would happen if they caught the person with the fake name that they have no way to track. Uhh...

Digging around a little further, the line is that it is prohibitive to compile a voters list due to cost and logistical reasons. So, why do many other Canadian cities continue this practice? A brief romp on the 'Net found that Ottawa, Winnipeg and many other similar sized cities still compile voters lists...and since Edmonton has more money and resources (probably than all of them combined) that argument doesn't fly.

According the the EPL website, voters lists were discontinued in 1995 upon the recommendation of the City Clerk's Office. The cost of compiling a list at that time for the 1995 municipal election would have been $816,000, or $400,000 for the right to use the provincial voters list. The more economical option of the provincial list had the disadvantage of not having the distinction as to whether the voter would be casting a ballot for Public or Catholic School Trustee. Although (unless I'm missing something major here), *asking* the voter which ballot they'd like when they arrive to vote would solve this problem.

So...what's the solution here, you ask? Simple...look west. In 2003, Elections BC published a discussion paper (see it here) that proposed a Universal Voters List. Take some common sense, try to save some cash and be as efficient as possible...seems like a plan to me. The Elections office found that even when a full renumeration was done, only 70% of eligible voters made it onto the list (well below the 85% that is considered the acceptable minimum). The paper also noted that during the 2002 round of municipal elections in BC, 70 municipalities simply used the provincial voters list for their area, saving approximately $10.5 million. The final recommendation was to complete a Universal Voter Registration, which would be cross-maintained by all parties...thus increasing accuracy and decreasing cost and duplication of effort.

So...why is it Alberta isn't doing this? I mean, I know we're too busy plotting to spend our surplus, and really, the infighting takes a lot of time, too. But this seems like a slap-in-the-face best solution here. For Christ's sake, I was enumerated for the upcoming provincial election *well before* the municipal election...can the city and the province not just work together to build one list for two different elections!?!?

Seriously, somebody present me with a valid argument on either of these two things:
(1) The oath that voters are required to sign is enough to ensure against fraudulent voting; or
(2) Having a Universal Voters List wouldn't work in Alberta because...

Please. I'm begging you.

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