Nova Scotia votes: Liberals critical of decision not to mail out voter info cards

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia Liberal party is sounding the alarm over Elections Nova Scotia’s decision Thursday not to mail voter information cards ahead of the Nov. 26 provincial election because of a possible postal strike.

The party, which is trying to unseat the Progressive Conservatives, issued a statement saying the move is “unconscionable” because it will leave many voters without access to critically important information about where and when they can vote on election day.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill accused Tory Leader Tim Houston of planning to take advantage of a possible shutdown of the postal system.

“He timed this election when everybody was aware that there was a pending postal strike,” Churchill said in an interview, adding that the Tories had already used public funds to start distributing a glossy government pamphlet about improvements to health care before the election was called on Monday.

“It’s clear that he will take any advantage that he can get … It gives an unfair advantage to the Tories.”

Churchill said that if postal workers go on strike, the Tories will benefit because the incumbent party typically has more resources to draw from for communicating with voters.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers announced on Friday that its rural and urban mail carriers had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action if there is no progress at the bargaining table with Canada Post. The union will be in a legal strike position as of Nov. 3.

While campaigning in Yarmouth, N.S., Churchill suggested that many Nova Scotia voters aren’t even aware there is an election campaign underway because it started immediately after provincewide municipal elections and toward the end of a contentious federal election campaign in the United States.

“That gives an advantage to the team that has the most money to advertise,” he said.

Chief electoral officer Dorothy Rice issued a statement confirming that eligible voters will not need a card to cast a ballot. Instead, they can bring some personal identification or they can swear an oath.

During the early voting period, which has already started, voters can cast their ballot at any polling station, the locations of which can be found on the Elections Nova Scotia website. The specific locations used on voting day are also available online.

Churchill said the lack of printed voter information cards will make voting difficult for seniors and those with a poor or non-existent internet connection.

“Seniors not only depend on the voter information card to know where to vote and when to vote — and even that there’s an election — but they also expect them because they have gotten it every time there is an election,” he said.

“If people don’t know there’s an election, they’re not going to proactively go to (Elections Nova Scotia’s) website.”

Elections Nova Scotia is an independent, non-partisan agency, but it has a history of conflict with the Liberals.

In June, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge ruled that Rice had no authority to order the party to take down signs and stop distributing campaign literature she deemed misleading during a byelection last year. The judge ruled that she had misinterpreted the province’s Elections Act when she issued her orders and announced she would call police when the Liberals refused to comply.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2024.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press