GuelphToday received the following letter from Guelph resident David Josephy regarding the long lineups to vote at the Delta Hotel polling station on Monday.
On E-Day, the entire residential student body of the University of Guelph was assigned to just two polls at the Delta Hotel. In the afternoon, the queue of students waiting to vote stretched outside, alongside the building, and then all the way up the long ramp to Gordon Street. The wait time was up to three hours and the queuing continued until after the nominal 9:30 p.m. poll closing.
Adding insult to injury, there was also a standard residential poll at the Delta. So, the waiting students watched while householders scooted past the lineup, voted, and left within a few minutes! It is a testament to the good character of the waiting U of G students that they persisted with such patience and good humour.
Elections Canada was understaffed and unprepared for the task of registering the students, most of whom had just moved to Guelph.
For many of these young people, Sept. 20 was their first opportunity to cast a ballot. What a terrible introduction to voting! Unsurprisingly, some students who had walked over from campus took one look at the long lineup and left without even trying to vote. This was voter suppression as seen in Mississippi. It was a black day for Canadian democracy.
David Josephy
Guelph
