Elections Canada results in court
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OTTAWAThe Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the case of a disputed election result in a Toronto riding last federal election and consider whether Elections Canada’s clerical errors affected the outcome.
Newcomer Conservative MP Ted Opitz beat Liberal incumbent Borys Wrzesnewskyj by just 26 votes, taking the hotly contested riding of Etobicoke Centre.
Wrzesnewskyj went to court because he says there were voting irregularities.
The Ontario Superior Court ruled earlier this year that Elections Canada made
some major mistakes during the vote, so the judge threw out 79 ballots and overturned the result.
The judge found that people showed up at polling stations and were handed ballots even though they had no identification and others weren’t on the voters’ list.
Opitz appealed to the Supreme Court to try to hold onto his seat and stave off a byelection.
Lawyers for both Wrzesnewskyj and Opitz are expected to plead their cases before the Supreme Court, which is interrupting its summer break to hear the case.
Depending on the court’s ruling, Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have to call a byelection for the riding.