For immediate release, May 9, 2008
Vancouver – Pivot Legal Society, VANDU, the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Impact on Communities Coalition are calling into question the constitutionality of new amendments to the Elections Act which will place greater restrictions on the right of homeless and low-income people to vote.
“These amendments create severe hardship for people to access the democratic process. Precisely when low-income people need greater access to the system, the government is changing the system to make it harder for people to vote. This is totally unjust, unfair and unconstitutional,” said David Eby, a lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society.
The proposed amendments require identification from voters, and where voters don’t have ID showing a fixed address, require a person to “vouch” for the voter. A vouching voter must be from that particular riding and may only vouch for one person, eliminating the possibility of social workers or advocates vouching for numerous homeless people they know.
The previous version of the Act permitted a person to swear a declaration that they were who they said they were, so long as they could satisfy the oath taker of their identity. Previous provincial and federal elections in the DTES have seen hundreds of people swear declarations so that they can participate.
“By taking this unnecessary action, the province is further disenfranchising people living in the margins of society. The system is being further reorganized to delegitimize the basic human rights of citizens. These amendments should not go forward,” said Ann Livingston, the Director of VANDU.
“The Election Act amendments are unique. Whereas the evolution of the franchise in Canada has been to continually expand the right to vote, with one small scribble of the legislator’s pen, British Columbia would be taking a huge step backwards by effectively disenfranchising a variety of people. The provincial government should be ashamed,” said Murray Mollard, Executive Director of the BC Civil Liberties Association.
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About Pivot Legal Society
Pivot’s mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. We believe that everyone, regardless of income, benefits from a healthy and inclusive community where values such as opportunity, respect and equality are strongly rooted in the law.
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