More names being added to Malpeque special ballots after voters noticed only 1 name

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 1:49 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Elections Canada says voters successful P.E.I.'s national riding of Malpeque volition commencement seeing much names connected the peculiar ballot opening today.

Special ballot voting allows Canadians to formed their ballot astatine immoderate Elections Canada bureau earlier beforehand polls oregon predetermination day. The ballot includes a blank abstraction wherever voters indispensable constitute the sanction of their chosen candidate.

For this national election, voters tin formed a peculiar ballot astatine an Elections Canada bureau anytime earlier 6 p.m. connected April 22. When voting this way, radical tin inquire an predetermination idiosyncratic for a database of confirmed candidates successful their riding.

However, immoderate voters successful the Malpeque riding person precocious raised concerns aft seeing lone the sanction of Conservative campaigner Jamie Fox successful that database of confirmed candidates, on with a blank abstraction to constitute successful different names.

Other candidates moving successful this riding see Anna Keenan (Green Party), Cassie MacKay (New Democratic Party), Heath MacDonald (Liberal Party) and Hilda Baughan (People's Party of Canada).

Françoise Enguehard, media typical for Elections Canada successful the Atlantic Region, said that's due to the fact that Fox completed the confirmation process earlier than different candidates.

She added that aft candidates taxable their names, they request to spell done an authoritative confirmation process earlier appearing connected the list.

"Candidates are enactment arsenic they appear... truthful it's lone due to the fact that helium was quicker disconnected the people and got confirmed quicker than the others, but I tin archer you present determination are 5 candidates already," Enguehard told CBC News.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, the authoritative Elections Canada website was listing 5 confirmed candidates for the Malpeque riding. That's besides the deadline for nominations to close.

"So if radical spell ballot by peculiar ballot contiguous successful Malpeque, the 5 names volition beryllium disposable to them," Enguehard said.

Misconception astir peculiar ballots

Voting by peculiar ballot is antithetic from voting connected predetermination time oregon astatine beforehand polls.

When you ballot by peculiar ballot, your ballot won't amusement a database of candidates to take from. Instead, determination is simply a blank abstraction connected the ballot for you to constitute the sanction of the campaigner you're voting for.

Enguehard said determination is simply a communal misconception that a ballot won't number if a sanction is misspelled.

But it is based connected intent, truthful insignificant errors could beryllium accepted, she said.

"A batch of radical are disquieted that if the sanction is not perfectly spelled, it's going to beryllium a spoilt ballot. That is not rather true," she said. "You would person to truly spell it incorrect from the opening to the extremity and marque it incomprehensible."