2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal

rdf:langString 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal

rdf:langString The 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal (also known as the Robocall scandal, Robogate, or RoboCon) is a political scandal stemming from events during the 2011 Canadian federal election. It involved robocalls and real-person calls that were designed to result in voter suppression. Elections Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) conducted investigations into the claims that calls were made to dissuade voters from casting ballots by falsely telling them that the location of their polling stations had changed. Further possible electoral law violations were alleged as the evidence unfolded. Under the Canada Elections Act, it is an offence to wilfully prevent or endeavour to prevent an elector from voting in an election. On Election Day, May 2, 2011, reports of voter suppression, mostly centred on the riding of Guelph, led to the discovery that a computer in the Guelph Conservative campaign office had possibly been used to make the calls. While the Elections Canada investigation initially focused on calls sent into Guelph amidst nationwide complaints, the investigation expanded to complaints in other ridings across the country. Court documents filed in mid-August 2012 by the Commissioner of Canada Elections indicated that the elections watchdog had received complaints of fraudulent or misleading calls in 247 of Canada's 308 ridings, recorded in all ten provinces and at least one territory. The allegations received widespread national media attention, and led to a series of protests in March and April 2012 in at least 27 Canadian cities. April 29, 2012, was termed by protest organizers a "National Day Against Election Fraud". On April 24, 2014, Commissioner of Canada Elections Yves Cote issued a press release that stated, "the Commissioner has concluded that, following a thorough investigation by his Office, the evidence is not sufficient to provide reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed. Therefore, the Commissioner will not refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions". However, in August 2014 former junior Conservative staffer Michael Sona was found guilty of one violation of the Elections Act.