Ottawa ballots to be reprinted and sent by diplomatic courier
The Central Electoral Commission has decided to reprint ballots for the Ottawa polling station and send them via diplomatic courier, due to the Canadian postal service strike, which could delay the delivery of previously sent ballots.
"According to the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated September 26, a situation related to the postal operator in Canada has been brought to our attention, which could jeopardize the timely arrival of the ballot package intended specifically for polling station 38/12. This concerns a nationwide strike declared by the Canadian postal service. Therefore, to avoid the risk of ballots not reaching this station, our colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have requested the reprinting of the ballots and their delivery via diplomatic courier to Canada," explained Angelica Caraman, president of the CEC.
By the CEC’s decision, the number of ballots for polling station 38/12 in Ottawa will increase from 1,000 to 2,000.
"If the initially sent ballots are delivered to polling station 38/12 before it opens on September 28, the electoral office will record in section ‘i’ of the report on vote counting the total number of ballots received by the office. Therefore, the count will be based on the total of 2,000 ballots," Caraman added.
The president of CEC also stated that if the initially sent ballots arrive after the polling station opens on September 28, the sealed ballot box, together with all electoral documents and materials, will be returned to the Central Electoral Commission via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For the September 28 elections, seven polling stations will be open in Canada: two in Montreal and one each in Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Vancouver.
