Zach LarkinsELECTION FRAUD
Quebec goes to the polls today to install a new premier for the next three or four years. There is nothing particularly exciting about this, other than the rest of Canada wondering how much federal money the new guy will wangle out of Ottawa to keep them in the Confederation. However, there does seem to be a bit of a controversy. The Muslims have their burkhas in a twist over a ruling by the chief returning officer that requires all voters to be bare-faced when casting a ballot.
Marcel Blanchet says that anyone voting in today's election must do so with an uncovered face. Apparently he'd received word that some voters would be casting ballots while wearing Hallowe'en masks. Whether this is true or not is beside the question. There is too much possibility for election fraud if the voter can't be identified.
Perhaps we could learn something from mid-East countries that require voters to put their fingers into a jar of indelible ink when they vote. Right away, the returning officer knows if that person has cast a ballot and there is no chance the same person could vote twice.
We've all seen pictures of groups of women, wearing burkhas, who look exactly the same. All you can see is their eyes. Who's to say that one woman couldn't vote three or four times because her face is hidden? Or what if one woman beat the other to the polling station and voted under someone else's name, only to return later and vote again under her own name? Is there some guarantee that it is not a man in disguise? All legitimate questions, I think. And I think Blanchet is correct in his ruling.
I don't know if the burkha is a symbol of religion or not. If it is, these women could be accommodated by having a separate, supervised room where they can go to vote. The point is really moot as the actual casting of the ballot takes place in an enclosed booth. Any Muslim woman would merely have to open her head covering for a minute to verify she is who she says she is and carry on from there.
However, Muslim Council of Montreal president Salam Elmenyawi wants to make an issue of this. You'll remember him as the one taking up the torch for the prison guard who quit her job when she found out wearing a hijab was not allowed due to safety concerns. No one else has said this is a religious issue or one of discrimination. Except him. Maybe he thinks that by making mountains out of molehills, he to will be entitled to 72 virgins.
Blanchet's ruling is fair. I don't think too many Muslims will have a problem with it. However, Elmenyawi says it fans the flames of hatred. He has a problem. As he goes about trying to make a name for himself, I'm sure we'll hear much more from him, however ridiculous some of his causes might be.
Marcel Blanchet says that anyone voting in today's election must do so with an uncovered face. Apparently he'd received word that some voters would be casting ballots while wearing Hallowe'en masks. Whether this is true or not is beside the question. There is too much possibility for election fraud if the voter can't be identified.
Perhaps we could learn something from mid-East countries that require voters to put their fingers into a jar of indelible ink when they vote. Right away, the returning officer knows if that person has cast a ballot and there is no chance the same person could vote twice.
We've all seen pictures of groups of women, wearing burkhas, who look exactly the same. All you can see is their eyes. Who's to say that one woman couldn't vote three or four times because her face is hidden? Or what if one woman beat the other to the polling station and voted under someone else's name, only to return later and vote again under her own name? Is there some guarantee that it is not a man in disguise? All legitimate questions, I think. And I think Blanchet is correct in his ruling.
I don't know if the burkha is a symbol of religion or not. If it is, these women could be accommodated by having a separate, supervised room where they can go to vote. The point is really moot as the actual casting of the ballot takes place in an enclosed booth. Any Muslim woman would merely have to open her head covering for a minute to verify she is who she says she is and carry on from there.
However, Muslim Council of Montreal president Salam Elmenyawi wants to make an issue of this. You'll remember him as the one taking up the torch for the prison guard who quit her job when she found out wearing a hijab was not allowed due to safety concerns. No one else has said this is a religious issue or one of discrimination. Except him. Maybe he thinks that by making mountains out of molehills, he to will be entitled to 72 virgins.
Blanchet's ruling is fair. I don't think too many Muslims will have a problem with it. However, Elmenyawi says it fans the flames of hatred. He has a problem. As he goes about trying to make a name for himself, I'm sure we'll hear much more from him, however ridiculous some of his causes might be.
