Having discovered by chance, from a newspaper article that there was such a method, I arranged through the elections officer to use the right in, the Saanich byelection, of exercising my “curbside vote” outside city hall on Sept. 18.
So far as I know my wife and I were the only two electors to do so although many pensioners and others with mobility problems and absentee constituents, such as, soldiers, truck drivers and businessmen, were completely disenfranchised in this important byelection by the decision of the election officer who deemed there would be no postal voting in this important byelection.
In the light of recent questionable municipal expenditure on the law-enforcement department, it is difficult to see that cash shortage can have attributed to that decision!
Just before polling day Canada Post delivered to my house a flyer from the candidate who secured the most votes on Saturday bearing an endorsement from the present Mayor of Saanich. I am led to believe that he did not express similar esteem for any of her competitors!
As the reported majority of the successful candidate was so narrow and the fact that the postal vote might have very likely resulted in a different decision, I hope the unsuccessful candidates will call for a review of the result of this byelection with the object of deciding if the disenfranchisement of potential postal voters makes this result null and void?
Ralph Smith
Saanich