TORONTO — Lawyers for the federal government say allowing voter information cards to be used as valid ID at the polls could lead to fraud and detract from public confidence in the electoral system.
The government is arguing in a Toronto court today against an injunction request to suspend a key identification provision in the Fair Elections Act.
The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students are asking the court to restore the power of Canada's chief electoral officer to recognize voter information cards as valid ID — a power taken away in the act — in time for the fall election.
Government lawyer Christine Mohr says using voter information cards as valid ID is unnecessary as voters have the option to chose from 45 different forms of identification.
She says that use of voter information cards is not needed to ensure Canadians have the ability to vote.
Before the Fair Elections Act was introduced the chief electoral officer announced his intention for the upcoming election to allow Canadians to use the voter identification cards as valid ID — along with one supporting document that wouldn't have to contain an address.
