Elections Canada Denies Tories’ Attempt to Disqualify 700 Student Votes

Vote Mobs are attracting attention and YouTube hits from all over Canada.

Vote Mobs are attracting attention and YouTube hits from all over Canada-along with the ire of the Conservative Party.

Flocks of student voters are turning up to advanced polls with face paint and choreographed dance routines to get young people to vote.

But the Conservative Party isn’t inspired. In fact, the Tories’ local candidate Marty Burke played the role of buzz-kill at a recent Guelph vote mob, as he illegally filmed the festive voters, then tried to abscond with the ballot box. His actions now have his party in trouble with Elections Canada, with allegations of election tampering.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper came to Burke’s defense, saying, “Our concern is simply that the rules for advance polling, that all the rules of the election be respected and that is our sole concern.”

In the end, Elections Canada said that, while the university won’t have any more advanced balloting, all the votes are completely valid.

Predictably, the other two major party leaders have condemned the Tories’ actions. NDP Leader Jack Layton called their actions harassment and intimidation, while saying, “We must encourage youth to vote, not prevent them from voting.”

Elsewhere, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said, ““I have been saying, ‘Let’s get more students involved, let’s not suppress the vote and let’s make respect for democracy a central part of what we expect from a prime minister.’”

Student Vote Mob at Guelph University