Who needs citizenship these days anyway?
The American student who voted in Monday's federal election says Canada needs to be more vigilant in verifying voters' identities.
Peter Cunningham, who attends the University of Toronto, told CTV's Canada AM Thursday his intention wasn't to help elect a certain candidate -- he says he spoiled his ballot -- but to show how easy it is for a foreign citizen to vote.
The idea was spawned while Cunningham, who is from Michigan, was volunteering at a polling station and learned that proof of citizenship was not required for those registering to vote on election day.
He was able to cast a ballot in Toronto's Trinity-Spadina riding with only his student card and a hydro bill as identification -- proving his residency, but not his nationality or his age.
"I immediately thought... this can't be true," he said. "I mean, maybe the guy forgot to mention something.... The potential for mishap is huge."
Cunningham said he did it because he wants to become a journalist and thought exposing the flaw would make a good story. He even called his mom and told her about his plan in advance, and said she supports his decision.
"I just would like to point out that there's an error in the system that should be corrected," he said.
He submitted an article chronicling his experience to The Toronto Star, but the paper published its own story on the events instead, so he didn't get paid.
Cunningham hasn't heard anything yet from Elections Canada and said he hopes to stay off its radar, at least until his last semester of school is over.
According to the federal voting agency, the penalty for voting illegally is a $5,000 fine, five to seven years in jail, or both. Those charged with voter fraud can also be prevented from running as a political candidate.
However, according to the Star, no one in Canada has ever been convicted of voter fraud, and our elections are said to be based on an honour system.
Voting irregularities
Cunningham said the experience was a cakewalk compared to voting in the States, where he was required to bring his driver's license and a voter's registration card that can only be obtained with proof of citizenship and a social security number.
However, that country has also seen its share of voting irregularities.
The punch-card system in Florida left enough "hanging chads" to cloud the outcome of the 2000 election, and flaws in Diebold voting machines allowed the potential for votes to be changed after the fact in the 2004 vote.
This is also not the first time an aspiring journalist has shaken things up in Trinity-Spadina.
In the 2004 federal election, freelance reporter James DiFiore claimed in Toronto weekly Now Magazine that he voted three times, hoping to land a job as a staff writer.
DiFiore said he voted at one poll where he was on the list of electors, a second using photo ID and a T4 tax slip bearing a former address, and a third using a form designed for homeless people.
Chow says voter's list needs work
In that election, almost 10,000 people not previously on the voter's list cast ballots in Trinity-Spadina. MP-elect Olivia Chow says the voter's list can't keep up with the downtown riding's mobile population, contributing to fraud cases like Cunningham's.
"The downtown ridings have high turnover, with people like renters, students and new Canadians, and also all the condo developments," she told CTV.ca Thursday. "The voter's lists are terrible."
Chow would like to see thorough door-to-door enumeration return to ridings with consistently high turnover rates, particularly populous areas of larger cities.
Since the 1997 implementation of the online voter registry, only specific areas within each riding -- as identified by the returning officer -- are visited by elections workers prior to the vote.
Chow, the former Toronto city councillor for Trinity-Spadina, would also like to see Elections Canada enforce its own laws on voter fraud.
"If I were Elections Canada, I would charge (Cunningham). Let him explain it in court," Chow said, adding the onus should be on the voter to abide by the rules. "If you go out and steal something, you know you're not supposed to. Why is this different?
"Now this guy gets his name in the paper, that's what drives me insane."
Elections Canada's Toronto spokesperson, Grace Lake, said it is up to the Commissioner of Canada Elections to enforce fraud laws, usually on a complaints basis.
"Often the commissioner and the offender will enter into a compliance agreement in place of charges," she told CTV.ca Thursday. "That is often a good way to proceed because the agreement involves an educational aspect, teaching the offender why what they did was illegal."
She was unable to comment on Cunningham's story.
Chow thinks adequate staffing at polling stations would also help prevent fraud, saying Elections Canada was scrambling at the last minute to hire enough people to work in Trinity-Spadina.
She said lines at some of the polls in her riding -- which saw 76 per cent turnout -- had more than 100 people in them, waiting to register and vote.
"Imagine the attention on the person (working) there with 100 people in line," she said, adding the pressure might make it easier for an illegal voter like Cunningham to slip through.
Peter Cunningham, who attends the University of Toronto, told CTV's Canada AM Thursday his intention wasn't to help elect a certain candidate -- he says he spoiled his ballot -- but to show how easy it is for a foreign citizen to vote.
The idea was spawned while Cunningham, who is from Michigan, was volunteering at a polling station and learned that proof of citizenship was not required for those registering to vote on election day.
He was able to cast a ballot in Toronto's Trinity-Spadina riding with only his student card and a hydro bill as identification -- proving his residency, but not his nationality or his age.
"I immediately thought... this can't be true," he said. "I mean, maybe the guy forgot to mention something.... The potential for mishap is huge."
Cunningham said he did it because he wants to become a journalist and thought exposing the flaw would make a good story. He even called his mom and told her about his plan in advance, and said she supports his decision.
"I just would like to point out that there's an error in the system that should be corrected," he said.
He submitted an article chronicling his experience to The Toronto Star, but the paper published its own story on the events instead, so he didn't get paid.
Cunningham hasn't heard anything yet from Elections Canada and said he hopes to stay off its radar, at least until his last semester of school is over.
According to the federal voting agency, the penalty for voting illegally is a $5,000 fine, five to seven years in jail, or both. Those charged with voter fraud can also be prevented from running as a political candidate.
However, according to the Star, no one in Canada has ever been convicted of voter fraud, and our elections are said to be based on an honour system.
Voting irregularities
Cunningham said the experience was a cakewalk compared to voting in the States, where he was required to bring his driver's license and a voter's registration card that can only be obtained with proof of citizenship and a social security number.
However, that country has also seen its share of voting irregularities.
The punch-card system in Florida left enough "hanging chads" to cloud the outcome of the 2000 election, and flaws in Diebold voting machines allowed the potential for votes to be changed after the fact in the 2004 vote.
This is also not the first time an aspiring journalist has shaken things up in Trinity-Spadina.
In the 2004 federal election, freelance reporter James DiFiore claimed in Toronto weekly Now Magazine that he voted three times, hoping to land a job as a staff writer.
DiFiore said he voted at one poll where he was on the list of electors, a second using photo ID and a T4 tax slip bearing a former address, and a third using a form designed for homeless people.
Chow says voter's list needs work
In that election, almost 10,000 people not previously on the voter's list cast ballots in Trinity-Spadina. MP-elect Olivia Chow says the voter's list can't keep up with the downtown riding's mobile population, contributing to fraud cases like Cunningham's.
"The downtown ridings have high turnover, with people like renters, students and new Canadians, and also all the condo developments," she told CTV.ca Thursday. "The voter's lists are terrible."
Chow would like to see thorough door-to-door enumeration return to ridings with consistently high turnover rates, particularly populous areas of larger cities.
Since the 1997 implementation of the online voter registry, only specific areas within each riding -- as identified by the returning officer -- are visited by elections workers prior to the vote.
Chow, the former Toronto city councillor for Trinity-Spadina, would also like to see Elections Canada enforce its own laws on voter fraud.
"If I were Elections Canada, I would charge (Cunningham). Let him explain it in court," Chow said, adding the onus should be on the voter to abide by the rules. "If you go out and steal something, you know you're not supposed to. Why is this different?
"Now this guy gets his name in the paper, that's what drives me insane."
Elections Canada's Toronto spokesperson, Grace Lake, said it is up to the Commissioner of Canada Elections to enforce fraud laws, usually on a complaints basis.
"Often the commissioner and the offender will enter into a compliance agreement in place of charges," she told CTV.ca Thursday. "That is often a good way to proceed because the agreement involves an educational aspect, teaching the offender why what they did was illegal."
She was unable to comment on Cunningham's story.
Chow thinks adequate staffing at polling stations would also help prevent fraud, saying Elections Canada was scrambling at the last minute to hire enough people to work in Trinity-Spadina.
She said lines at some of the polls in her riding -- which saw 76 per cent turnout -- had more than 100 people in them, waiting to register and vote.
"Imagine the attention on the person (working) there with 100 people in line," she said, adding the pressure might make it easier for an illegal voter like Cunningham to slip through.