I was surprised at the word "sold" as it never occurred to me that it would cost anything to get in. But I guess he's not crisscrossing the country and renting venues all out of his own pocket, so it makes sense.
I don't know where he's going to be in Edmonton, but if they weren't expecting many people (this being such a non-NDP-friendly region), they may have picked a smaller place and got a bigger turnout than expected.
Well, I've found out that Elections Canada is still ableist, in spite of pages and pages of blather in the Returning Officers' manual (freely available online if anyone fancies reading how elections are conducted from a polling station point of view). There's a lot of talk about accessibility and how to speak respectfully to disabled people, but not one syllable about in-home special ballots. I called to ask if they're still available, and was told yes, so that's one question I plan to put into my complaint when I draft it.
Back in 2019 I ran into this crap about the rules of in-home special ballots. Apparently disability is one-size-fits-all, and if you're disabled in your mobility, you're also incapable of reading and writing. The Returning Officer I spoke to a little while ago told me that they would be reading the list of candidates to me, I'd tell them who I wanted to vote for, and they would write the name on the ballot for me.
And then I'd sign the envelope and other paperwork myself (the declaration of eligibility and that I hadn't already voted).
This is so fucking WRONG. There is NO reason why someone who is capable of reading and writing shouldn't be allowed to write the candidate's name on the ballot, put the ballot in the envelope, sign and seal the envelope, and go through the rest of the rigamarole if their disability is something that doesn't include reading or writing.
Everyone else in the country gets to vote by secret ballot. Why don't we?
Note that I have no objection to a disabled person or someone who isn't fluent in English/French asking for help to vote. That is absolutely their right, and when I was a municipal DRO, I dealt with a situation where a blind voter needed help. But it was her husband who helped her, and after he did the requisite paperwork (an oath to mark the ballot as the "incapacitated elector" says to), they went off to vote, and I wasn't involved any further.
The Returning Officer said she had to take an oath of confidentiality, but I told her that wasn't the point. Every Elections Canada worker has to take an oath of confidentiality. The point is that my vote is between me, my conscience, and the ballot. Nobody else. There's a double-system of envelopes used so they know I've voted by special ballot, but by the time that ballot is counted, they can't match specific people with specific ballots.
I really object to being forced to tell anyone who I'm voting for. And if I'm expected to sign the envelope, why can't I do a proper secret ballot?
I made a complaint about this YEARS ago, and obviously not one damn thing was done about it. I don't even know if the Returning Officer at that time bothered to read it.
When they come, I will be presenting them with a piece of paper on which I've written the candidate's name. They can copy from that. I refuse to be labeled as illiterate just because other parts of me don't work right.
So much for inclusiveness and the Charter.
