Reeve Barb Shaw detailed the motion last week explaining that following the alleged voter fraud that happened in the Township, something needs to be done to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The OPP concluded in January that there was “no criminal wrongdoing” in the case of voter fraud that is alleged to have happened during the 2018 municipal election in Wollaston. Despite this, council has continued to attempt to get to the bottom of the issue.
On Monday, they passed a motion with the aim to close the loophole on pay-to-play voting with better reporting and enforcement and to make sure Clerks overseeing elections work within the Municipal Elections Act.
When speaking with the MyBancroftNow.com newsroom last week, Shaw said she believes the Municipal Elections Act is “vague.” By passing this motion, she hopes it “tightens up” the Act and makes it more difficult for what is alleged to have happened in Wollaston happen elsewhere.
“I think this is going to happen again,” Shaw bluntly put it when speaking about future elections not just in Wollaston, but around the province.
In the now passed motion, council is asking Minister of Municipal Housing and Affairs Steve Clark to review the Municipal Elections Act to close the loopholes on “pay-to-play schemes.” He’s also asked to provide stronger wording to assist municipal Clerks to address election-related issues and to make it easier to report election fraud.
The motion will also be forwarded to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Hastings-Lennox and Addington MPP Daryl Kramp and other municipalities in the province.