Things could be worse — we could be living in Russia with all of those time zones.

Actually Stephen, I grew up out West and in every election I can remember, it was more or less decided before the polls closed in BC. This is one of the reasons that Western Alienation exists; that everything is decided in Central Canada and the votes in Western Canada don't matter. The 1993 election was decided before the votes in Manitoba were even counted. Those provisions in the Elections act were put in place by the Chretien Government to try to placate the West. Perhaps you are right though in that it should be changed, because in the end it doesn't really matter as every election is decided by Central Canada anyway. Its just that as a Westerner, I don't like to have my nose rubbed in it when I see the results elsewhere in Canada before I even get a chance to vote. I just hope this time it will be decided in the Tories favour .

Thankfully that the territories in the US do not have electoral votes, otherwise such a provision would be impossible here due to the sheer number of time zones to cover. Guam is on the wrong side of the International Date Line from the rest of the US and American Samoa is located far too close to its eastern edge.

I agree, the section 329 provisions are not that enforceable these days. Unless an Australia-style national filter were put into play, how exactly could this even be done?

Brett, “Central Canada” = Manitoba & Nunavut. The people in the mainstream media who still use this term to refer to Ontario and Quebec must have been born in the 19th century. Heh.

We present-day Central Canadians only have 15/308 seats in the House of Commons and 7/105 seats in the Senate. We have a long way to go before we become an electoral powerhouse.

Laws should be enforceable because when it is impossible to enforce a law, a law ceases to have effect.

I agree, but unfortunately I can name a couple of other unenforceable laws the Conservatives seem intent on introducing or strengthening: Bill C-61 and the war on drugs.

Wouldn't it be much simpler if the law declared that no one may transmit the result of voting in an electoral district to the public until voting was complete nationwide? Scrutineers would be free give Elections Canada their results immediately, but there would be an embargo on passing on the results to media outlets until 10 pm Eastern.

I think it is really unfair for the west to be waiting to learn that Central Ontario screwed them again. I am a Londoner so I get it twice. I have to usually watch the central panty waste's being too afraid to support the blue teamand then look on worrying whether those west of Kenora are one day going to march and attack us. Western Alienation is a serious problem but I really don't buy it is because the election outcome is known before their polls close. Westeran alienation is a result of Eastern Main Stream refusing to accept Western Mainstream and having the political clout to back it up.

As the west grows the seat distribution has to change to more accurately reflect the west. I somehow think that Westerners need to offer an olive branch some how and make it easier for the vast Ontario majority to understand that they are just from a different place and not really all that different from themselves. I don't have the answers here.

It seems hard to believe that people in the west are so unintelligent they would rush out to vote according to Ontario's whims to somehow belong. If anything knowing our results should make them think even harder about voting against our wishes.

Seriously there has got to be a better solution. Why can't we all vote over the same 10 hours? In today's world it should not be impossible. If you can't make that time there are advanced polls for crying out loud.

12:00 noon to 10:00 pm in the east.
10:00 am to 8:00 pm in Ontario
7:00 am to 5:00 pm in the west

Does this fit the map?

Does anyone else here smell something afoot this election by way of a surprise?

I may have posted this last night I can't remember but I think back to Bob Rae's win in Ontario for the Dippers. The majority parliament was based on a 37-34% vote spread. I'm sure most will think it wishful thinking but I wonder if the Bloc vote is as solid as it shows in terms of GOTV. That has always been the true reason for the Liberal bump on election night. I wonder also if a Conservative bump may happpen with the way polls all seemed to end with an upswing?

I was out working for the GOTV in my riding and there was a lot of early voter turnout. (I visited 4 polling stations)

So Stephen, are you going to post the results on your blog before polls close in BC?

Is it your position that the justification in relation to television broadcasts is not equally applicable to online media or simply that enforcement is impossible in light of new technologies? I would argue that the justification, to the extent that it is valid in the first case, is also valid in the second case. Enforcement might be a bigger issue, but the validity of the law itself cannot seriously be in question. To the extent that it violates free speech, it is probably justifiable under s. 1 of the Charter.

Is it your position that the justification in relation to television broadcasts is not equally applicable to online media or simply that enforcement is impossible in light of new technologies? I would argue that the justification, to the extent that it is valid in the first case, is also valid in the second case. Enforcement might be a bigger issue, but the validity of the law itself cannot seriously be in question. To the extent that it violates free speech, it is probably justifiable under s. 1 of the Charter.

I'm with Zorpheous: Level the playing field.

No matter where you live in Canada, the polls close at the same time. Maybe it could be on a rotation basis, so one region isn't penalized all the time. Maybe some regions could have a few more adance polls to compensate for earlier openings, earlier closings, whatever.

I'm not a great fan of all of this new-fangled technology whatever the perks we all enjoy from it. 'Too much room and opportunity for fraud and manipulation.

There is one very simple solution.

Open all the polls at the same time and close them at the same time across Canada, Make Sask. the center and people spreading out in times zones from there will have to live with the earlier opening or closing.

So 9 to 9 in Saskatoon would be about 12 to 12 on the east coast and the West coast would be 7 to 7

There is one very simple solution.

Open all the polls at the same time and close them at the same time across Canada, Make Sask. the center and people spreading out in times zones from there will have to live with the earlier opening or closing.

So 9 to 9 in Saskatoon would be about 12 to 12 on the east coast and the West coast would be 7 to 7

The one comment about 10 hour polls would severly restrict my ability to vote. If it were as proposed 7 am-5 pm, would not work as I work from 8-4:30. I understand that we get 3 hours time to vote, but that does not have to be paid. I would lose money for casting my ballot.

Already I am rushed to vote today. I get home at 5 pm PDT. I like to shower, cook and eat, all part of my healthy routine I have got for myself. Hopefully I will be done all by 6:30 as I am having basic dinner, then I get to jog up to the polling station, and vote. We in B.C. should have the same polling stations open to 9:30 pm as Ontario enjoys.

I altogether agree with Stephen's thesis here.

I altogether disagree with Devin and think, from Spiltbongwater's description of his/her day that he/she could quite easily accommodate election day once every few years. (And perhaps, as batb suggests, the times might be rotated.)

Given the wide latitude for voting locally at the advance polls—my husband and I both took advantage of this option—I agree with the suggestions of Zorpheous and Phil Hauser.

The only solution I can think of is to put the onus on returning officers and not allow ballot boxes to be opened until ALL polls are closed – and have them all opened at once. That means counting cannot begin in Newfoundland until 11:30 pm though.

I would imagine that the best way thru this conundrum would be to stick with regular polling hours ( 7 to 7 or 8to8 ), and gag results ’till BC polls shut down.True showtime with the major networks would suffer but that’s the breaks in a multi time zone nation as ours.Those that really gotta know the results on voting day would just have to stay up or split shift their sleep time.
s’aseasyasthat!

I would imagine that the best way thru this conundrum would be to stick with regular polling hours ( 7 to 7 or 8to8 ), and gag results ’till BC polls shut down.True showtime with the major networks would suffer but that’s the breaks in a multi time zone nation as ours.Those that really gotta know the results on voting day would just have to stay up or split shift their sleep time.
s’aseasyasthat!

My point of the ten hour window is not to appease individual voters but to appease the entire country. It has to be done while making other methods of voting such as electronic votes via web, mail in ballots, advance polls, voter registration days with ballots available and so on.

The three hours to vote is please excuse me a kind of arcane thing with the number of ways to vote in advance. Poll clerks, DROs, campaign staff often vote in advance. It doesn’t have to be that day. I am self employed for me to take three hours off not only means I miss the pay, it means my business does not function. No, I am saying there are ways to give more people the chance to vote early and leave election day for the uncommitted.

Again I am not suggesting that people who cannot vote on the actual day be punished. I am suggesting that with prozy voting (if it still exists) as well as advanced polls allmost everyone could make the effort.

The Advance polls could be more numerous and you could always vote at Elections Canada office prior.

In 2006 election, I voted on Christmas day 2005 EC was open and so I did it just to say what the heck, why not? If 25 of the days before the election are available to vote this would eliminate the need to have a 12 hour poll.

My point of the ten hour window is not to appease individual voters but to appease the entire country. It has to be done while making other methods of voting such as electronic votes via web, mail in ballots, advance polls, voter registration days with ballots available and so on.

The three hours to vote is please excuse me a kind of arcane thing with the number of ways to vote in advance. Poll clerks, DROs, campaign staff often vote in advance. It doesn’t have to be that day. I am self employed for me to take three hours off not only means I miss the pay, it means my business does not function. No, I am saying there are ways to give more people the chance to vote early and leave election day for the uncommitted.

Again I am not suggesting that people who cannot vote on the actual day be punished. I am suggesting that with prozy voting (if it still exists) as well as advanced polls allmost everyone could make the effort.

The Advance polls could be more numerous and you could always vote at Elections Canada office prior.

In 2006 election, I voted on Christmas day 2005 EC was open and so I did it just to say what the heck, why not? If 25 of the days before the election are available to vote this would eliminate the need to have a 12 hour poll.

Of course, a blog post is not a transmission to the public. When you put election results on your website, you are not transmitting them to the public in the same way that a radio station would do.. You are rather making them available to any individual who wants to visit your site, in exactly the same way as your telephone allows anyone to call you up and ask you for information. It’s an abuse of the law to misinterpret this provision to go after blog posters.

Of course, a blog post is not a transmission to the public. When you put election results on your website, you are not transmitting them to the public in the same way that a radio station would do.. You are rather making them available to any individual who wants to visit your site, in exactly the same way as your telephone allows anyone to call you up and ask you for information. It’s an abuse of the law to misinterpret this provision to go after blog posters.

If people and voters would just learn to keep themselves better informed (watch CPAC) they would know which candidate to vote for.

Why in the hell did Fry have to get in?….. AGAIN?…. silly “strategic” voters. Bunch of morons.
Hope they're happy with there lousy pick especially since there were clearly better options available from other parties.

Do people not understand how our democracy works?? vote for the candidates stupids!

ahwell, least the conservatives got more seats…
They're party and platform and leader and TEAM are strong enough to keep the not-so-great/less experienced MPs in line and reasonably progressive (in all meanings of the phrase).

I'm happy enough with the results. To bad the Liberals are still around as official opposition rather than the NDP.
Thats Jacks fault for his delusional and over ambitious expectations to lead this country…. moron.

They should change their party name to B.I.R.S.
Blind Ignorant Radical Socialist.

I doubt very much that Blogger/Google would ever shut anything down, given their track record (appeasement of the Chinese, refusing to remove libellous and/or offensive blogs, etc.).

Besides, all those blogs are hosted on U.S.-based servers and as such, they should be exempt from the provision in the law, even if the author is actually located in Canada.

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