Election officials will be paying close attention to the February 22 plebiscite on Vancouver’s bid for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Marg Coulson, deputy elections officer for the city, said voters could potentially abuse the system by casting multiple ballots because no voters’ list will be used and people will register on the day of the plebiscite.
As a result, election officials will be paying extra attention to the registration forms signed by voters and will conduct a special post-plebiscite review to determine if there were multiple votes, she said.
In order to receive a ballot, voters will have to sign a document saying they have not already voted in the plebiscite. They will also have to show picture identification as well as proof of residency.
The city expects upwards of 90,000 people or 30 per cent of the electorate will vote at 39 polling stations set up in schools, two community centres, and Vancouver city hall.
Two advance polls will be held on Feb. 12 and 18 at city hall.
If Vancouver votes against the 2010 Games, former Colorado state governor Richard Lamm, who helped lead the Denver referendum in 1972, said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will hold it against the city for years to come.
Lamm told The Province, “there was some talk of trying to get the Olympics to come back to Colorado. Supposedly the authoritative person at the IOC said, ‘it will be a cold day in hell before we’ll go back to Colorado’”.
He said he suspects Vancouver would face the same thing.
Meanwhile, No Games 2010 Coalition spokesman Chris Shaw said his group is busy at workplaces and homes on a province-wide e-mail campaign. Groups including the Green Party, leaky-condo activists and the Canadian Federation of Students have joined the coalition. Shaw said, “our various lists reach about 300,000 people”.
Shaw said his group will be going door to door and networking to get out the No vote.
He claimed that some of his members have been “harassed and threatened with arrest” when they’ve shown up with No placards at forums at libraries and community centres.
