Concerns raised over hospital patients being unable to vote

Marion explained there were no polls available at the hospital on voting day, and while a special ballot took place on April 22 for hospital patients, what happens to those who weren’t in the hospital at that time?

“That’s not good for today (April 28) because my husband wasn’t in here on the 22. He’s in here now, and so are many others that weren’t here on the 22, what about their votes? Votes count,” Marion said.

“We should have that right to have our votes and polls here in the hospital, every hospital,” she continued.

Marion added that after UHNBC learned she was going public with her story, she says the hospital did make an exception for her and her husband, allowing her husband to leave the hospital for two hours to cast a vote. However, her concern for everyone else who may not have received that treatment, or who may be so unwell as to be unable to leave the hospital, remains.

“What about all the other patients that are here? Are they getting the same opportunity to get out and vote? I don’t think so, and that’s a big concern,” she said.

Elections Canada explained the reason special ballots are organized like this is to ensure the integrity of the voting process remains strong, and that the process remains as seamless as possible.

“Special balloting in chronic care facilities or acute care facilities is six to eight days before the election. So that’s prescribed in law,” said Elections Canada B.C.’s Media Advisor James Hale.

“The calendar is very set by parliament in terms of how to conduct an election, particularly one that’s 36 days — the shortest it can be by law — which this one was. There are days when things have to happen for the process to run smoothly. And that is why this window of six to eight days before election day is set aside for a special ballot coordinator and hospital liaison officer to make people who are in those facilities aware that this is going to happen and that the special balloting will go on on those days,” Hale continued.

Hale did acknowledge that it was an “unfortunate” situation, and adds change is possible, should this hospital voting issue be raised to parliament. Hale explained after every election Elections Canada and a committee from parliament conduct an election review, where Elections Canada makes suggestions on what could be changed or modified to make the voting experience better.

“We have an aging population. There’s going to be more of us Canadians who are hospitalized in any given time, and I can certainly see that that could be something that could be considered in the in the future,” he said.

Hale adds changes to the voting process aren’t unusual, and if you have any concerns he strongly encourages you reach out to your local Member of Parliament.

“Individual Canadians make a case to their parliamentarians. The parliamentarian take it to parliament. It gets debated, it gets on the order paper. That’s the way our system works. It’s not a top down system, it’s very much grassroots. I’ve been working for Elections Canada for 25 years now, and I can say that I’ve seen huge changes,” Hale said.

He listed one notable change being the extension of advance polling days, as he says Elections Canada heard feedback that more people would be interested in voting early, so the days have been increased. As for hospital voting, in the current system Hale says the best way to vote is to let Elections Canada know ahead of time.

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by Tommy Osborne

Concerns raised over hospital patients being unable to vote

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