XPost: can.politics, ont.politics   
   From: {~_~}@nyet.ca   
      
   Remember the saying "If it's not broken, don't try to fix it" ?   
   Something's very broken in the upcoming Quebec election. . . .   
   ______________________________________________________________   
      
   CBC News Posted: Mar 28, 2014   
      
   Quebec Green Party candidate told he's not eligible to vote   
      
   If elected, Brendan Edge could face a lawsuit or contestation from the   
   chief electoral officer   
      
      
   A candidate in Quebec's 2014 election has been refused the right to   
   vote, which means he could face a lawsuit from the chief electoral   
   officer if he's elected in his riding.   
      
   Quebec's chief electoral office (DGE) confirms that Brendan Edge is   
   running as a candidate in Chomedey for the Green Party of Quebec. He's   
   listed on the DGE's website as well as on his party's website.   
      
   But when Edge visited the local revision office with all his   
   documentation to register to vote, he says he was turned down.   
      
   "They said that [my documents] didn't prove that I was domiciled in   
   Quebec and one of the men seeing me claimed that he checked and I wasn't   
   even a candidate," he said.   
      
   Edge, who works and pays income tax in Quebec, said he moved from   
   Ontario three years ago to study at McGill University.   
      
   Edge is one of many people who have publicly reported that they were   
   turned down by the revision officers over the province's "in domicile"   
   requirements.   
      
   The Quebec Elections Act requires all voters to prove that Quebec has   
   been their main place of residence for the past six months, which   
   complicates things for students from out of province, who often still   
   have their old health cards and driver's licences.   
      
      
   Voters vetted more thoroughly than candidates   
      
   But that strict screening process does not apply to candidates, which   
   creates issue for people like Edge.   
      
   Chief electoral office spokesman Denis Dion explains that candidates are   
   only required to present a valid nomination paper and documents that   
   verify their identity to the returning officer.   
      
   Candidates are also required to swear an oath that they're eligible to   
   vote, but the returning officer is not required to ask for any proof of   
   that claim.   
      
   Dion said cases like Edge's are an exception.   
      
   "He was obviously not aware of his status as a voter," Dion said.   
      
   "You could say there was a gap in the law if it was a frequent problem,   
   but I think it's an isolated case."   
      
   The Quebec Elections Act states clearly that anyone elected to the   
   national assembly must be a valid elector, which means Edge could be   
   facing serious consequences if he wins in his riding.   
      
   According to Dion, Edge's election could be contested because he was not   
   an elector, or he could also be sued by the chief electoral office.   
      
   Dion said Edge could face a lawsuit from the chief electoral office even   
   if he's not elected.   
      
   Dion said that Edge's candidacy will remain valid, and the office will   
   be keeping an eye on Edge's campaign.   
      
   "We took a good note of the story of Mr. Edge as candidate. We know him   
   and we know what happened to him, but I can’t tell you if we’re going to   
   do something more than that, it’s premature," Dion said.   
      
      
   Edge plans to take legal action   
      
   In the meantime, ​​Edge said he's considering legal action of his own.   
      
   He'll be one of several people contesting their right to vote in the   
   Quebec election.   
      
   Constitutional rights lawyer Julius Grey has already confirmed he is   
   representing several others who have been kept off the voters list.   
      
   Grey said he'll be filing an injunction with Quebec Superior Court next   
   week.   
      
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