The adapted ballot being used in the Battle River-Crowfoot federal byelection at an advance polling station in Camrose, Alta., on Aug. 8.Fakiha Baig/The Canadian Press
For Naomi Finseth, filling out a form and writing her signature 250 times was an act of political protest.
A neighbour told Ms. Finseth, a resident of Camrose, Alta., and her husband, Nathan Sereda, about the Longest Ballot Committee and its plan to protest the by-election in Alberta – where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is attempting to regain a seat in the House of Commons – by stacking the ballot with dozens of candidates who aren’t trying to win.
In late June, the couple went over to Paula Marentette’s house to fill out the paperwork for the nominations. They wrote down their names and addresses on a single nomination form for the race in Battle River-Crowfoot, which were then copied onto others. They then spent about half an hour writing their signatures onto 250 forms for candidates they didn’t know.
Ms. Finseth said she was upset about having to go vote again, just months after Conservative MP Damien Kurek won the riding with 82 per cent of the vote in the April federal election. Mr. Poilievre, however, lost his Ottawa-area seat, prompting Mr. Kurek to resign in June so his party leader could try again.
“There’s not a lot we can do about this situation. We know what’s going to happen. We know what the outcome is, but at least this maybe will get someone’s attention to realize, like, this process is a little ridiculous,” Ms. Finseth said in an interview.
“Like, the fact that we can elect someone with 82 per cent of the vote just to have another by-election, to elect the same party, is garbage.”
Why the Longest Ballot Committee is flooding Poilievre’s by-election with candidates
The Longest Ballot Committee has been signing up increasing numbers of candidates in recent federal races to advocate for electoral reform. The ballot in the Alberta by-election will have a record 214 names; of those, 201 are linked to the committee.
The large number of candidates prompted Elections Canada to switch to a write-in ballot, in which voters will fill in the name of their preferred candidate instead of choosing from a printed list. It has also prompted criticism of the group, including from Mr. Poilievre, who calls it a “scam,” and wants to change the law to prevent such protests.
This is the second time the committee has targeted a riding where Mr. Poilievre is running. In the spring federal election, the group ran dozens of candidates in Mr. Poilievre’s Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, which had 84 names on the ballot. The group has also targeted other by-elections, including in ridings where the Liberals are historically strong.
Ms. Finseth described signing the forms: “It was a weird feeling of knowing that I didn’t know who I was nominating, but in the same breath, I was like, ‘This whole process is a joke.’
“This is something we’re able to do, and if it draws at all attention to the fact that we need electoral reform and that what is happening isn’t great, then I think it’s worth it.”
The Longest Ballot Committee argues that politicians face a conflict of interest in making election laws, and that those decisions should instead be made by an independent, non-partisan body such as a citizens’ assembly.
People volunteer to be candidates with the committee, and then organizers help them with the nomination process, including meeting the signature threshold. In most cases, Elections Canada requires 100 signatures from riding residents.
Elections Canada to issue write-in ballot in Poilievre’s by-election, citing long candidate list
Committee organizer Tomas Szuchewycz said in a statement there were about 25 volunteers collecting signatures for this by-election, some of whom were also candidates. Along with signing parties or asking family and friends, he said, some organizers went door to door.
The Globe and Mail spoke to seven people who gave their signatures, who all said they signed 250 individual forms. Two of them are candidates.
Ms. Marentette said she decided to hold a nomination signature party after a candidate asked her and her husband to sign their papers. Doing it one person at a time seemed “dumb,” she said, so instead she organized about 35 people to come over.
Candidate Nick Meuters-Murphy said he got involved because he was frustrated over Mr. Kurek’s resignation.
“I wanted to do more than just complain about it online,” he said, adding he has supported electoral reform for some time.
Mr. Poilievre has written to Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon calling for changes to election laws, including requiring candidates to obtain unique signatures and financial agents. All of the Longest Ballot Committee candidates have the same financial agent.
“If you did that, this interest group would not be able to pull off this stunt and this scam,” Mr. Poilievre told reporters last week. “That’s why we’re proposing to change the law, to make sure that this longest ballot stunt never happens again.”
Opinion: A long ballot satire within satire
Mr. MacKinnon was not available for an interview, but his office said in a statement that it shares the concerns and is examining the issue.
Elections Canada declined an interview request for Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault. However, Mr. Perrault spoke to a parliamentary committee about the issue last November.
He proposed a ban on voters signing multiple nomination papers, while also arguing that doing so should not invalidate those nomination papers.
When asked about Mr. Perrault’s and Mr. Poilievre’s proposals, Mr. Szuchewycz said that “lots of people have lots of interesting ideas for changing election rules.”
“Right now, politicians seem to be spending a lot of time brainstorming ways to stop our important project instead of implementing changes to our election system that voters actually want,” he said.
Kathy Haas, who is a senior, said she decided to sign the nomination forms, but later had second thoughts. She said she has since learned that longer or write-in ballots could make it harder for seniors to vote. She also met Mr. Poilievre, she said, and supports him.
Another signer, Roger Admiral, said the protest is “perhaps an imperfect method of trying to change an imperfect system.”
Candidate Ceilidh Stewart said she hopes election laws will be changed to require candidates to be residents of the riding they want to represent.
“How can you speak on behalf of a group that you have never been a part of?” she said in a statement. “The answer is: You can’t, and you shouldn’t.”