MASU president Jon Ferguson says that the students’ union was receiving nonstop messages about voting difficulties all day.
JF: We’ve been in touch with students all day. We’ve gotten dozens and dozens of messages on social media emails, calls, visits in the office, and many students have been turned away. I’d be willing to say based on the sheer number of inquiry messages we’ve received, a majority of students in the first half of the day least, were turned away for any number of reasons. This includes students who are in their second year of residence, students who have lived in Sackville for four years and in their fourth year, and they were with their lease everything. This also includes even New Brunswick residents being told no, you can’t vote in this riding, even though that’s incorrect. You can vote in this riding in fact, if you go to the Civic Center, you can only vote in this riding.
MC: Okay, who were they turned away by? Poll workers?
JF: Yep, poll workers. Just so we’re totally clear. So at one point later in the day, there was an individual associated with a party who basically indicated to certain students that they could be charged for using a letter, provided by Michelle Strain by the way, for Mount Allison. This was false. That’s one part of the story and we’re very disappointed that misinformation from an individual affiliated with a party was spread, but the the main issue, I guess the first issue, and the the theme here today has been has been throughout the day, poll workers specifically at the Civic Center but also at the returning office have been turning away students. We’re hearing from students that the reasoning is incredibly inconsistent. Some students, they’ve even said that they’ve seen the poll workers argue with one another and undermine one another.
Ferguson says that the MASU spoke with Chief Electoral Officer of New Brunswick Kim Poffenroth who confirmed that returning students did have the right to vote.
Ferguson says that Poffenroth called the CRO (Chief Returning Officer) and DRO (Deputy Returning Officer) but is concerned with the damage already done.
JF: There’s been some pushback from every level. So it’s really concerning, deeply concerning, that we’re seeing rampant voter disenfranchisement, and that it’s only now sort of getting cleared up two hours before the polls closed. I wouldn’t say it’s totally cleared up yet.
MC: Okay. Good to know. So you’re currently at the polling station right now, right?
JF: Yeah. The MASU has been here for over five hours now, going on six hours.
MC: What does the line look like?
JF: It’s pretty consistent. It’s like 20 to 30 people at the door, give or take, it’s picked up in the last couple hours.
MC: Have you heard of any folks who are perhaps too anxious to return to the polling station?
JF: We have, we’ve got messages from students that said they felt patronized and intimidated by the behavior of the individuals conducting the election. Some of them returned, but just to be clear, among those who have successfully voted, they have described it as a less than pleasant experience to say the very least. We’re talking about first time voters being absolutely belittled and patronized. We’ve spoken with several individuals who deny this, but when many students come to you and say, I did not feel respected, I felt belittled and patronized, and like they were looking for a reason to not let me vote, you know that it’s a consistent pattern.
This conversation took place at approximately 6pm on Election Day.
By Meg Cunningham
