UCP made the right decision switching to mail-in balloting
By Lethbridge Herald on March 30, 2022.
Editor:
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t looking forward to what was sure to be the drama-fest of every political junkie’s dreams.
I’m sad to miss out on the drama in person – but I’m glad. It was the right move for the UCP to cancel the Red Deer meeting and switch to mail-in voting.
Despite my disappointment, I feel that the decision to switch to the thrilling world of mail-in ballots was necessary. The mail-in system creates increased accessibility and should lead to greater member participation in the vote – which is what we should want right?
Why would members and CA Presidents speak out against a decision that ensures that members from all socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, mobility levels and regions of the province have the opportunity to participate?
Are we really committed to being the type of party that charges $100 to attend a vote? I thought we were trying to pivot away from the exclusive, boys-club perception of conservative politics.
I am frustrated with Brian Jean’s self-serving criticism that mail-in voting will result in fraud. I am not dismissing his concerns. I agree that the voting procedure should be strict and the vote highly scrutinized.
There is room for error and potential for fraud in every vote and election workers must conduct themselves to the highest standard.
Unfortunately, I think Jean’s motivations in making these accusations lie more in creating a sustained path for his political influence and activating his base (think Trump’s calls regarding electoral fraud during and post-defeat in the election).
There are many fair criticisms of Kenney, being made by all factions of the UCP party – but can you imagine the Province under the leadership of Brian Jean over the last two years?
Regardless of which way my fellow-members vote and the outcome of the count – I am just grateful that the party leadership recognizes the importance of hearing from every member on this issue.
Jane Martin
Calgary
14-13
The true conservatives in my world agree Brian Jean was such a great liar as leader of the Wildrose Party Albertans took a chance on electing Jason Kenney and what a farce that has been. None of us want either one of them running this province. Treating Albertans like morons while they help their rich friends steal our oil and tax wealth and blaming others is all they know.
As the former MLAS from the Lougheed era taught me Don’t ever trust a Reformer, they were right.
People should speak out against “after the last minute change” .March 19 Kenney was still urging people to buy a membership ,register to vote , and come to Red Deer. 9 hours till deadline said he. Then 2 or 3 days later Kenney and his board, not liking the odds of the Red Deer vote found an excuse to cancel the SGM and switch. Same kind of motivation as Brian Jean. Self serving motivation. After a leadership review vote was called for some time ago ,Cynthia Moore ,president of the board insisted it had to be in person , in one location. She indicated on-line voting was not secure and definitely not the way to hold a vote. Personally , I can agree with most of the sentiments of letter writer . However to change the rules of the game that late in the game, because Kenney might not get his 50% is very wrong.
So what you are saying is basically an assumption. While I realize your point if I was to vote in this Jean led fiasco I would much prefer to not have to drive 3.5 hours and stand in line waiting my turn. Mail in does have its issues as noted, however, in this electronic age shouldn’t be an issue. Proper identification recorded on the mail in ballot can easily be checked against the provincial data base that they have on you. So then we can move on to the vote counting conspiracy theory.
Not sure what assumption your referring to.There is much speculation regarding the vote change .MLA’s and board members are unwilling as of now to respond to direct questions.” A reply is forthcoming “ seems to be their way of dealing with the fallout of the Kenney /board/ SGM fiasco.When the leadership review was called for Dec 2021 ish Kenney’s approval rating was even lower than it is now.The board knew then that Kenney couldn’t survive a mail- in leadership review and that’s why they called it unreliable or not secure.At that time they felt they could hold a normal SGM in Red Deer and get enough Kenney supporters to simply endorse the Premier as in the past. Many of us might be dissatisfied with Kenney ,would state that in a poll ,however not angry or fed-up enough to spend the money and go RedDeer for the leadership vote. The board was counting on this . The frustration with the premier became obvious ,by more members signed up than usual, probably not all of them favouring Kenney. So Kenney and his board were in panic mode .Thus the change in procedure. It wasn’t even last minute. It was way past the last minute. This is an assumption on my part, I will admit. All the details I can find make me believe my assumption is very close to the truth. No response to questions from UCP officials confirms some of my suspicions .I was registered to the SGM in RedDeer and some people would assume to know how I would vote. Assumptions can come from words or actions of others.
This is not a Jean led fiasco.It started before Jean joined the UCP. He just became an active participant .
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Given the issues with Kenney’s leadership mess with Kamikaze-gate with its $200,000 in fines and the RCMP investigating voter fraud allegations, this vote would suffer from justified leeriness by many of us. I wouldn’t trust anything to do with Kenney, et al, with a ten foot pole.
You don’t trust Jason Kenney? Pinocchio nose maybe gives him away!