NDP wants special ballots axed
Party says early-voting provisions are unconstitutional
CBC News
Posted: Dec 7, 2011 9:28 AM NT
Last Updated: Dec 7, 2011 9:26 AM NT
NDP Leader Lorraine Michael (left) and candidate Julie Mitchell campaign in Marystown during the 2011 provincial election. (CBC)
Newfoundland and Labrador's special ballot rules are unconstitutional and should be scrapped, according to a lawsuit filed by a defeated NDP candidate.
Julie Mitchell lost to Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Clyde Jackman by just 40 votes in the south coast district of Burin-Placentia West in the Oct. 11 election.
The NDP previously sought a recount in the district, but that request was dismissed by Supreme Court Chief Justice David Orsborn.
The new court application takes aim at the province's Elections Act — specifically, the provisions that allow special ballots to be cast up to four weeks before an election is actually called.
Those provisions "are a violation of democratic and constitutional norms of Canada and the Commonwealth," the NDP court filings claim, offering an unfair advantage to incumbents.
Mitchell is also alleging that people who do not live in the district voted in the election.
The case is scheduled to be heard on Dec. 13 in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court.
Share Tools
Latest Nfld. & Labrador News Headlines
- St. John's, old supermarkets and economic black holes
- Deserted supermarkets are annoying neighbours, confounding would-be retailers and posing new questions for city council, writes John Gushue. more »
- Arts workers criticize E.I. changes
- A long-time theatre director in Newfoundland and Labrador says changes to the federal employment insurance system will be bad for the province's seasonal theatre and tourism industries. more »
- On Point | Peter Penashue on strained relations with Ottawa
- Newfoundland and Labrador's representative in the federal government, Peter Penashue, predicts relations with the province will improve. more »
- St. John's trying to attract women firefighters
- The St. John's regional fire department says it's trying to convince more young women to consider careers in firefighting. more »
Top News Headlines
- Canadian Pacific strikers face back-to-work legislation
- Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is prepared to end the Canadian Pacific Railway strike if necessary, after both CP and the union rejected a proposal for voluntary arbitration by the government-appointed negotiator on Sunday. Raitt says she is "extremely disappointed." more »
- Syrian regime denies role in Houla massacre
- The UN Security Council condemned the Syrian regime at an emergency meeting Sunday, holding president Bashar al-Assad's military responsible for the massacre of more than 100 people, dozens of whom were children younger than 10 years old. more »
- Ryder Hesjedal wins prestigious Giro d'Italia
- Victoria native Ryder Hesjedal has become the first Canadian to win one of the cycling world's three Grand Tour events, wrapping up the 2012 Giro d'Italia with an excellent performance in the final stage in Milan. more »
- Neighbour may have helped find missing kids in Mexico
- Two Winnipeg children who had been missing for nearly four years were found in Mexico after a man raised concerns about his neighbour, according to a private investigator. more »
- St. John's, old supermarkets and economic black holes
- Crews still fighting central Labrador fire
- Man dies in crash near Bay Roberts
- Arts workers criticize E.I. changes
- RNC investigating Corner Brook death
- Bonavista, N.L., 'coyote' was really wolf, tests confirm
- $175,000 for Burin Peninsula aquaculture research
- What moose? Woman can't recall dramatic collision
- 700-hectare Labrador fire has moved off CF base
