The provincial government and the courts are doing their best to keep participation in elections under strict control.
The two big political parties, the BC Liberals and NDP, are behind proposed legislation that would give political parties a complete list of everyone who voted in a provincial election. The information would not be made available to independent candidates or even incumbent MLAs like Delta independent Vicki Huntington.
This is nothing more than an assault on privacy. In some ways, it is an attempt to use sophisticated technological means to go back to the era when people had to cast their votes in public. In those days, voters could lose their jobs, their homes and face assault and other criminal acts — simply because of the way they voted.
Thankfully, Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver, Huntington and the privacy commissioner are standing against this. The effort to coerce Elections BC to hand over this private information to political parties must fail.
Meanwhile, the B.C. Court of Appeal has backed provincial legislation which states that groups or individuals must register with Elections BC if they plan to say or distribute anything that might be considered election advertising during an election period.
The court’s decision, by a 2-1 margin, goes against the recommendations of the chief electoral officer, who said in both 2010 and 2014 that there was no problem in not registering those who spend a small amount in placing advertising during an election, say $500 or $1,000. The federal government does not require registration if individuals or groups spend less than $500. In Alberta, that limit is $1,000.
Elections are the one time when citizens have the power to bring politicians and political parties to heel. They should be freewheeling affairs — not a stage-managed series of photo-ops designed for the 6 p.m. television news, as increasingly happens on both the federal and provincial stages.
While there is a need for some spending limits during campaigns, particularly by parties and candidates, it is highly unlikely that spending of $1,000 by either an individual or group will sway the outcome of an election in a given riding. And if it does, it means that message resonated with a large number of voters.
Vincent Gogolek, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, says the court decision is an assault on freedom of expression. His organization launched the court challenge to try and overthrow the requirement to register with Elections BC, on constitutional grounds.
The maximum penalty for not registering is a $10,000 fine and a year in jail.
The law says it applies to “an advertising message that takes a position on an issue with which a registered political party or candidate is associated.” That could be virtually anything, and could apply to a hand-written sign in the back of someone’s pickup.
This law is far too restrictive, and it needs to be repealed.