Elections Canada ruling on veiled voters

[glorybebe]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper blasted Elections Canada Sunday for going against a parliamentary ruling by allowing Muslim women to wear veils and burkas while voting.

The move goes directly against a unanimous vote in the House of Commons this past spring to make visual identification mandatory when casting a ballot.

"I profoundly disagree with the decision," Harper told reporters in Sydney, Australia where he is attending the APEC conference. "We just adopted this past sitting, in the spring, Bill C-31, a law designed to have the visual identification of voters. That's the purpose of the law.

"That was the law voted virtually unanimously by Parliament and I think that this decision goes in an entirely different direction," he continued.

On their website, Elections Canada reiterated their policies on wearing religious face coverings while voting.

It states that if an elector produces an original government-issued photo identification that contains her name and home address then she has the following options:

-She may choose to unveil to identify herself

-She may produce a second original piece of identification from Chief Electoral Officer of Canada's authorized list of identification

-She may come with another elector who is registered in the same polling division and who can provide adequate proof of their own identification to vouch for her identity. They would both need to make a sworn statement under oath.

burka

I know that the religious views of all our immigrants need to be appreciated, but our laws also need to be recognized by the immigrants. The only way to make sure that these women are who they say they are is to see their faces. How can we be sure that they are not a man dressed up like a woman to fake votes?

[Atheist God]

I don't care if you religion demands you wear a sheet over your head you should have to take it off to avoid electoral fraud.

Then next time I go to vote I will wear a ski mask and when i am told to take it off I will say to bad its a part of my beliefs and when they tell me I can't vote I will say how come women get to wear sheets over their heads.

Your religion is your personal right but that being said there are laws for a reason and everyone no matter who you are should have to obey these laws. Changing the ID process is a mistake a big mistake.

[glorybebe]

I don't care if you religion demands you wear a sheet over your head you should have to take it off to avoid electoral fraud.

Then next time I go to vote I will wear a ski mask and when i am told to take it off I will say to bad its a part of my beliefs and when they tell me I can't vote I will say how come women get to wear sheets over their heads.

Your religion is your personal right but that being said there are laws for a reason and everyone no matter who you are should have to obey these laws. Changing the ID process is a mistake a big mistake.

Could you imagine the hoopla you would cause?LOL! But what a statement you would make! I am getting really sick and tired of our country bending over backwards to give everything to immigrants. My grandparents had NOTHING given to them, they worked their arses off to contribute to this country that took them in. It is a gift to be allowed to immigrate to Canada (and I am sure many other countries feel the same way) not a thing to be taken for granted.

[questionmark]

I would go for it if there was a different type of identification for those who wish to go veiled, like a fingerprint, but letting people vote without positive ID is definitely a discrimination against those who are identified.

[glorybebe]

I would go for it if there was a different type of identification for those who wish to go veiled, like a fingerprint, but letting people vote without positive ID is definitely a discrimination against those who are identified.

Exactly!

[swtp]

Could you imagine the hoopla you would cause?LOL! But what a statement you would make! I am getting really sick and tired of our country bending over backwards to give everything to immigrants. My grandparents had NOTHING given to them, they worked their arses off to contribute to this country that took them in. It is a gift to be allowed to immigrate to Canada (and I am sure many other countries feel the same way) not a thing to be taken for granted.

Exactly! My grandparents were imigrants as well, and they were greatfull for the oppertunities this country gave them! They felt it a privlege to be apart of this great country and worked hard , contributed and supported the laws and customs by making sure they and their children learned the language,obeyed the laws and they were still able to practice their beliefs and culture!

[InHuman]

not all sects of muslims wear full burkas, but the ones that do need to either find a really good'n'fast way to positivley identify someone or ****.

btw, I've heard from alot of places that the belife that woman should be covered up is WRONG and misinterpeted from the Quran, somehwere it says that ONLY the wives of someone (adam/eve thing) where to cover up because they where the FIRST mothers.

[questionmark]

btw, I've heard from alot of places that the belife that woman should be covered up is WRONG and misinterpeted from the Quran, somehwere it says that ONLY the wives of someone (adam/eve thing) where to cover up because they where the FIRST mothers.

No, there is a clothing rule, but it does not include wearing a blanket over a womans head.

[Skim Milky]

canada is cool

[Atheist God]

Could you imagine the hoopla you would cause?LOL! But what a statement you would make! I am getting really sick and tired of our country bending over backwards to give everything to immigrants. My grandparents had NOTHING given to them, they worked their arses off to contribute to this country that took them in. It is a gift to be allowed to immigrate to Canada (and I am sure many other countries feel the same way) not a thing to be taken for granted.

I am serious I am really going to wear a ski mask in protest of this law and I urge all Canadians to do the same. This is an outrage to our electoral process!

Such a law will only lead to electoral fraud and this prospect is unacceptable. I don't like Harper that much but I will agree with him and most Canadians will too that this is a mistake. The system was fine before and there is no need to change it simply to cater to those who don't want to follow the law.

I guess those who passed this law never would have thought to say "Hey you don't like the rules, then don't vote". Really it should be as simple as that bottom line.

[Bill Hill]

Certainly opens up the possibility/likelihood of voting abuse;

[glorybebe]

Certainly opens up the possibility/likelihood of voting abuse;

LMAO, great picture, billy

[ships-cat]

I'm slightly puzzled here. Presumably "Elections Canada" is the body that oversee's Canadian elections ? If they have 'broken the law' then surely Parliament can annul the elections, and demand new ones ?

Meow Purr.

[glorybebe]

I'm slightly puzzled here. Presumably "Elections Canada" is the body that oversee's Canadian elections ? If they have 'broken the law' then surely Parliament can annul the elections, and demand new ones ?

Meow Purr.

The elections are coming up, that is why there is so much controversy, we need to prevent the possibility of voting fraud. There are options, but, would cost an arm and a leg for just a few voters. But they still are options. In another post I submitted, airline employees are being identified by the blood veins in their hands, they are unique to each person and cannot be duplicated. This is a possibility, but would that also be against their religion?

[InHuman]

Was watching the news today, it had a muslim lady who said that when she goes anywhere, she always reveals her face to give id confimation and that the goverment is just making things worse for them...there actually isn't a problem at all..

[glorybebe]

Was watching the news today, it had a muslim lady who said that when she goes anywhere, she always reveals her face to give id confimation and that the goverment is just making things worse for them...there actually isn't a problem at all..

Not sure I would agree with that...

[Atheist God]

Not sure I would agree with that...

Actually it's true, in fact on CBC they were saying that the government has not got one request by Muslim women to change the voting rules. Besides if they don't want to lift the veils to vote they can just simply not vote if they don't like 'our' rules.

This also violates the separation of church and state which a vast majority of Canadians including myself support.

In Canada you are allowed to practice religion freely however policy should not be directed to cater to your religious wants especially if it increases the risk to our national security by increasing the likely hood and probability of electoral fraud.

[Lord Umbarger]

If the Canadians were to set up a seperate booth for women only, they could take their masks off woithout violating their faiths. At least then we would know which polls get the Diebold machines and butterfly ballots.

[Atheist God]

If the Canadians were to set up a seperate booth for women only, they could take their masks off woithout violating their faiths. At least then we would know which polls get the Diebold machines and butterfly ballots.

Actually we don't use E-voting machines likely due to the fiasco that we have seen in the US and hacking risks etc. in fact I'm pretty sure a province or two has already banned the use of these machines. Also we don't have 'butterfly' ballots either they are actually quite straight forward.

The thing is that no one even complained about having to lift the veils which is why I am surprised a bill like this was even brought forward and passed none the less.

[questionmark]

The thing is that no one even complained about having to lift the veils which is why I am surprised a bill like this was even brought forward and passed none the less.

The Germans have a phrase for it: vorauseilender Gehorsam , which literally means something like "ahead ranging obedience" (can't really be translated - like Weltschmerz or Angst). Had lots of people with German roots elected into office lately?

ED: Typo

Edited September 14, 2007 by questionmark

[Atheist God]

The Germans have a phrase for it: vorauseilender Gehorsam , which literally means something like "ahead ranging obedience" (can't really be translated - like Weltschmerz or Angst). Had lots of people with German roots elected into office lately?

ED: Typo

No most of the same players came back. Our parliament has people from all kinds of back rounds.

[glorybebe]

No most of the same players came back. Our parliament has people from all kinds of back rounds.

Maybe it is just preventative measures. It is a situation that has a great possibility of coming up.