Daniel Tseghay October 8, 2014 Uncategorized

Voter Suppression in Vancouver’s Eastside

Downtown Eastside Votes, a newly-formed group of residents, is organizing a voter registration drive in the Downtown Eastside. The DTES neighbourhood has the highest concentration of seniors and people with disabilities in the region. “We are also the poorest and most racialized,” says organizer Wendy Pedersen, “with a lot of linguistically isolated people here too.”

The Downtown Eastside faces a complete lack of advanced voting stations, making voting and being represented even more challenging. “I have to wonder if this is intentional given that people here are the most impacted and hurt by the city’s policies on housing, poverty, immigrant, policing, gentrification and transit,” says Pedersen.

“The city must know that DTES residents can’t, even if they wanted to, get to Yaletown to vote. So many of them need extra time for the registration and voting process because of stringent ID requirements (no more vouching for people this time).” The Eastside of Vancouver is particularly underserved, with no advanced voting stations in the DTES, Strathcona, Grandview-Woodlands, Hastings-Sunrise or Kensington/Cedar-Cottage. The nearest advanced voting station to the city’s most vulnerable is at Thunderbird Community Centre, located at 2311 Cassiar St, which still presents barriers to access.

This hasn’t stopped Vision Vancouver’s city councillor Geoff Meggs from tweeting earlier today that he’s “glad advance polling locations up to 8 from five; polls open nearly three times longer, three eastside locations.” But the reality is that there are only two Eastside locations, compared to five in the west.

This Thursday, at 133 Powell Street (Four Sisters Cooperative Common Room), beginning at 11:00 AM, Downtown Eastside Votes invite people from the neighbourhood and other affected communities to discuss the implications and ways forward.

“Advanced voting stations are needed right at Hastings and Main Street,” says Pedersen, “or the city, under Vision Vancouver, will have the disenfranchisement of thousands on its record.”

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/464003977073932/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

8Comments

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1

Douglas Bjorkman on October 8, 2014 at 5:24 pm

I agree this is a travesty.

However your third paragraph asserts there is only one advance polling station on the Eastside. But in your fourth paragraph, in contradicting Councillor Meggs, you say “there are only two Eastside locations”. Which is it?

Further you comment “no vouching this time”. You are confusing the changes introduced by the Tories for Federal elections which have no applicability whatsoever to Municipal Elections. Just saying.
2

A on October 8, 2014 at 9:03 pm

I would like to mention that there aren’t any stringent ID policies at municipal elections. If residents have previously voted before, they should be on the List of Electors and don’t have have to present ID. If they’re unregistered, they at minimum have to produce only one ID (even a VPL card works) and take an oath.

However, I am concerned about the advance voting locations as it poses a real issue.
3

OccupyMedic on October 8, 2014 at 9:35 pm

According to our election laws, Douglass, the act does appear to disallow vouching at a municipal level. It is however, a bit of a hot mess as an act… Read it for yourself.

http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/vanch_02
4

OccupyMedic on October 8, 2014 at 9:39 pm

Looks to be 8 on this map. DTES, Hastings Sunrise & Grandview Woodlands not invited…
http://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2014/10/06/voter-suppression-on-the-east-side/
5

Daniel Tseghay on October 9, 2014 at 12:53 am

Thanks Douglas. You’re right on each point. I’ll correct this soon.
6

Aaron Boney on October 9, 2014 at 4:02 pm

…the DNC is having a voter registration booth set up each Sunday at the Street Market up until the elections and are working at getting drivers on election night to take dtes residents out to vote…the DNC is dealing with this from a solution based position rather than focusing on the problem…
7

Douglas Bjorkman on October 9, 2014 at 9:55 pm

I am somewhat familiar with the election provisions of the Vancouver Charter as many years ago I successfully litigated certain provisions that gave preference to British subjects which I thought rather anomalous. My point in this case was that what has been referred to as vouching was changed only with respect to Federal elections. It is my belief that there is a rather convoluted procedure that is the equivalent of vouching that could be used. Without legal counsel to convince the poll official it was legitimate I will concede that it might be difficult to do so at the time of voting. But that has always been the case and is nothing new. Much simpler to register and sort things out then.
8

OccupyMedic on October 10, 2014 at 5:29 am

Interesting. As I was reading through it, I was trying to figure out how someone homeless & lacking ID, but meeting all other qualifications could vote. Needless to say, it looks like a losing battle. During the 2011 election, we were trying to register the homeless population at Occupy Vancouver using the VAG’s address. At first, the city was telling us that it was an invalid address… Couple of press releases & some reporters making phone calls later & *POOF*, it became a valid address. City Hall’s allergy to media questions is quite astounding.

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