B.C. civil rights group says rules will disenfranchise thousands

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VANCOUVER - Federal election rules requiring identification to vote will rob thousands of Canadians of their right to cast a ballot in Tuesday's federal election and contribute to poor voter turnout, says the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Parliament changed the Canada Elections Act in the spring of 2007 to require voters to have proof of identity as well as a residential address.

The residential address rule was amended last fall over concerns that the new rules could disenfranchise some rural residents, aboriginals on reserves and students who don't have a proper street address.

But Rob Holmes, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the updated rules will still prevent people from voting.

"If you look at the homeless or people who are transients, how are they going to establish their right to vote when they show up?" said Holmes.

Holmes said the rules could also affect scores of people who don't have current ID with a new address, including students, seniors, those who don't drive and the disabled -- which could drag already dismal voter turnout even lower.

"You have this ridiculous situation where you people who don't have the driver's licences or similar ID with their addresses on it are going to run into difficulties when they show up to the polling place," he said.

"And that means they may effectively lose their right to vote, either because they run into difficulties at the polling station or, more to the point, that they hear about the voter ID requirement and decide that since they don't have it, they just won't go through the hassle."

For example, Holmes said his eldest daughter tried to vote at advance polls last week, but had trouble proving her address because she didn't have a driver's licence to show them.

Even though she had her voter information card from Elections Canada and her passport, her parents still had to essentially vouch for who she was.

The B.C. Public Interest Advocacy Centre has launched a legal challenge of the voter ID laws, which is expected to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court next year.

Elections Canada ordered a report into the new ID requirements following four byelections in March of this year over complaints that people were not able to vote.

Surveys by the polling firm Environics found that most voters had little trouble voting but they did reveal some problems for a small percentage of voters.