Elections Ontario says the NDP failed to notify election officials that one of its candidates had withdrawn, resulting in over 4,700 votes going to someone who was no longer in the race.
The riding of Elgin-Middlesex-London, covering a large swath of rural southwestern Ontario, including St. Thomas and part of London, saw 51,465 votes cast. Of those, 4,738 went to Amanda Zavitz, who withdrew a week before Thursday’s election.
“Shame on them,” said Kelly Elgie, referring to the New Democrats.
Elgie told CBC News that when she voted in Thorndale, she noticed a concerning lack of information disclosing Zavitz’s withdrawal.
“I think they owe our constituents and our area an apology. We collected almost 5,000 votes in our area for their party. It’s a waste.”
Progressive Conservative incumbent Rob Flack won the riding with 28,719 votes, followed by the Liberals’ Doug Mactavish with 12,578.
CBC News sent requests for comment to Zavitz and the Ontario NDP, but hadn’t heard back by time of publication.
Zavitz announced on Feb. 20 she was withdrawing from the race, a day after apologizing for comments she made during her presentation in New York last March that were captured in a YouTube video. In the comments by Zavitz, who’s white, she expressed a secret desire “to be a Black woman.” The controversy began after Progressive Conservatives highlighted the video during the election campaign.
According to an Elections Ontario spokesperson, the NDP failed to follow through on Zavitz’s withdrawal.
“We have yet to receive a notification of withdrawal from any candidate in Elgin-Middlesex-London,” Dave Pearce said in an email to CBC News on election night.
Elections Ontario told CBC there’s a formal process for withdrawing a candidate — it includes a one-page form that asks for the individual’s name, riding and party, as well as a signature from both the candidate and a witness.
“Generally speaking, when a candidate withdraws after the close of nominations, their name remains on the ballot and notices are posted at polling locations to make voters aware that the candidate has withdrawn,” Pearce wrote.
Since Elections Ontario says it has no record of the form being filed, when Elgie arrived at the local polling station to cast her ballot, no notice was posted.
“I found it odd. It was like, ‘Wow.’ This felt like a significant election. There’s been a lot of conversation about this vote, and not splitting the vote,” said Elgie. “I would love to see that we re-vote in our area, because I think there was an injustice.”CBC News heard from other voters who expressed disappointment and and felt the lack of transparency was unfair.
Opponents ‘ticked off’
While it’s impossible to know which candidates would’ve received the almost 5,000 votes that were cast for Zavitz had voters been notified she’d withdrawn, it’s a concerning misstep for the other parties’ campaigns.
“I’m ticked off to hear about it,” said Laura Blondeau, spokesperson for Mactavish. “We’re very disappointed. It would be an appropriate part of the process to formally notify Elections Ontario.”
Blondeau said she’s concerned a lack of notification meant voters didn’t have the full picture when they cast their ballots. She said because the votes couldn’t have flipped the election night result, it’s unlikely the Liberals will raise the issue through a formal complaint.
Blondeau also noted Zavitz endorsed Mactavish on social media following her withdrawal announcement.
Green Party candidate Amanda Stark, who finished fourth with 2,933 votes, said she spent the days leading up to election day warning locals that Zavitz had announced her withdrawal following reports that notices weren’t posted during advance voting.
“Both of us were representing parties that stand for very similar things,” Stark said. “What if her supporters [would have otherwise] voted for me? That’s another unfortunate detail, but there’s nothing I can do.”
The situation, Stark said, shows the importance of clear communication in elections.
“It’s disheartening, because there’s already a feeling of powerlessness and discouragement because people feel their vote doesn’t count,” Stark said. “Why are we [as people running for office] shooting ourselves in the foot here?”
