Election Worker Penalized $1,250 for Casting Two Votes in 2019 Federal Election
The Commissioner of Canada Elections has issued multiple fines for electoral violations, including to a Montreal man who voted twice in 2019.
The body responsible for enforcing the Canada Elections Act stated that David Gilchrist cast his vote twice in two different electoral districts in Montreal, resulting in a fine of $1,250.
Initially, Gilchrist voted by special ballot in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount riding on Sept. 23, 2019, and then at the polling station of the Saint-Laurent riding for early voting on Oct. 11, 2019, using his father’s voter information card.
Following his actions, Gilchrist confessed the next day to Elections Canada officials about voting twice, claiming his intention was to test the electoral system.
“The fact that he confessed to voting twice indicates a clear intention, which is considered an aggravating factor,” stated the commissioner’s notice of violation.
Related Stories
The enforcement body highlighted that Gilchrist had previous experience working as an election official in various federal, provincial, and municipal elections. Additionally, he served as a regional liaison officer during the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2004 and 2014 and as an international elections observer in Haiti in 2006.
The notice of violation mentioned, “David Gilchrist possesses an above-average knowledge of the electoral process.”
The 2019 federal election took place on Oct. 21, 2019, resulting in the Liberals securing a minority government with 157 seats. The two ridings where Gilchrist voted overwhelmingly favored the Liberals.
In another instance, the Commissioner of Canada Elections imposed a fine on a non-citizen who attempted to vote in the 2021 election. Qinan Feng received a $1,250 fine, with the commissioner deeming his attempt to conceal the offense as an aggravating factor.
Despite Feng’s claim that someone else had ordered a special ballot on his behalf, investigators traced the request back to him through uploaded identification proof to obtain the ballot and the IP address associated with his residence.
Efforts by The Epoch Times to reach Gilchrist and Feng for comments were unsuccessful.
