Rynor: Adventures in voting — long lineups, complaints, new friends

Residents of Ottawa Centre lined up outside Westgate Shopping Centre to cast their early vote on the long weekend. There were long queues around the city. Advance voting continues all weekend. Photo by Ashley Fraser /POSTMEDIAArticle content

First the lineup crawled. Then it inched. Then for long periods of time, it would stop moving altogether.

THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office.Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account.Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Accountor

Article content

By 10 a.m. Friday, the lineup at the advance polling station at Westgate Mall in Ottawa Centre was out the door, down the sidewalk and numbering 100-plus voters initially keen to cast ballots prior to election day on April 28. When harried election workers started offering folding chairs, we figured we were in for a long wait.

Article content

One of my neighbours says she and a friend arrived at 9:30 — polls opened at 9 a.m. — and only got to the front of the line by 11 a.m. Some took the chairs and busily tapped away on phones or started new friendships, annoyed but mostly accepting. Many others were loudly P-O’d and demanding to speak to whoever was in charge. Those election workers facing the ire were unfailingly patient, kind and as accommodating as they could be without being able to say anything specific about the long wait. Other would-be voters bailed altogether, but not before using their phones to snap pictures, vowing to call Elections Canada, their would-be members of Parliament and the news media about the situation.

Article content

I hung in — mindful of guests soon to be arriving, ham to be cooked and laundry on the clothesline with rain clouds threatening — thinking that surely things would start moving briskly as new deputy polling officers found their election chops. I reminded myself that some people, in some countries, walk miles under the blistering sun, then stand in line for hours more just for the privilege of casting a ballot — and it is a privilege.

Article content

But there was this damned ham waiting. And my daughter’s new godchild imminently arriving. Then I reminded myself that I, unlike those in some other countries or even in this lineup, do have a second opportunity to vote on election day if I so choose. But after almost an hour in I could see the front of the line, and the poor deputy polling officers — two at one station, one at the other — working up a sweat trying to process voters, answer questions, check ID and smooth ruffled feathers.

Article content

I hung in — mindful of guests soon to be arriving, ham to be cooked and laundry on the clothesline with rain clouds threatening.Article content

Article content

“There’s obviously a commitment among Ottawa voters to take advantage of the early voting options,” says Elections Canada spokesperson Diane Benson, with Ottawa Centre one of the top 10 electoral districts in Canada where electors applied to vote by special ballot, either by voting at the returning office or voting by mail.

Article content

The real worry is that an unhappy or inconvenient voting experience like this might dissuade people from voting at all. More than a few left this lineup and who knows whether they can or will bother to vote on election day. Coming on the heels of a provincial election, voter fatigue is an acknowledged factor this time around with every automated call, every flyer and door knocker in the days leading up to this election stressing the importance of getting out to vote.