Elections Canada and Social Media Ban on Election Day

[scribblet]

I just heard on the news that E.C. is planning to ban posting elections results on social media. Exactly how will they enforce this, but if there is a media blackout what twits would have the results in order to tweet

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/decision-canada/Twitter+Facebook+election+night+posts+draconian/4647769/story.html

[The_Squid]

and why haven't the Cons changed this legislation in their years in power? Draconian big-brother crap.

[nittanylionstorm07]

and why haven't the Cons changed this legislation in their years in power? Draconian big-brother crap.

Weren't the Cons the ones behind legislation preventing results from getting to the media until some ridiculous time?

[scribblet]

Why would the 'cons' want to change it, has there been public outcry for it, do Liebrals want it changed, in all their years of power why didn't they change this 1938 law - which has nothing to do with Elections Canada trying to enforce legislation on social media.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/decision-canada/Outdated+thwarts+real+time+election+results/4652965/story.html

Edited April 21, 2011 by scribblet

[M.Dancer]

and why haven't the Cons changed this legislation in their years in power? Draconian big-brother crap.

So the wire (that telegraph for you young folks), telephones and the intraweb were invented in 2006?

[TimG]

All it will take is a pool of 20 or so americans rewteeting private tweets to render the law irrelavant.

[The_Squid]

Why would the 'cons' want to change it

Possibly because it is bad legislation that doesn't work in modern times.

Elections Canada doesn't do things on a whim. They follow legislation enacted by parliament. The Cons could and should have changed the legislation.

So the wire (that telegraph for you young folks), telephones and the intraweb were invented in 2006?

What does that have to do with anything? The Cons are the ones in power and should be correcting and updating legislation like this. It is what government is supposed to do...

[M.Dancer]

What does that have to do with anything? The Cons are the ones in power and should be correcting and updating legislation like this. It is what government is supposed to do...

What it has to do with is that the means for mass communications go back far longer than the Conservatives have been in power....this sort of thing was an issue when Bernardo and Holmolka were being tried and trying to pin this on the Conservatives is merely partisan hackery.

Never the less, the reasons for the ban are still as valid as in the day when the message could have read,

-.-. --- -. ... . .-. ...- .- - .. ...- . ... / ... .-- . . .--. / --- -. - .- .-. .. --- --..-- / .--. .. -.-. -.- / ..- .--. / ..--- / ... . .- - ... / .. -. / --.- ..- . -... . -.-. / .- -. -.. / .... --- .-.. -.. / ... - . .- -.. -.-- / .. -. / .- - .-.. .- -. - .. -.-. / -.-. .- -. .- -.. .-

The fact that the law can be broken is not a sufficient reason to cancel it, but a compelling reason to strengthen it.

[The_Squid]

Apparently Harper was quite passionate about how wrong the legislation was before he became our PM.

Once again he has show his hypocritical colours.... say one thing, do the opposite.

Ironically, a decade ago, when blogger Bryan was charged with breaching the act, the National Citizens Coalition was firmly on his side.

"These jackasses at Elections Canada are out of control," said the NCC president, one Stephen Harper, at the time. "The government's law is outdated and just plain wrong."Harper was right then. Now, his own government's law is even more outdated.

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/decision-canada/Outdated+thwarts+real+time+election+results/4652965/story.html#ixzz1KBO3eIzD

[TimG]

What does that have to do with anything? The Cons are the ones in power and should be correcting and updating legislation like this. It is what government is supposed to do.

Well. If they get a majority they might have time to deal with issues like this. If it is another minority I would expect another 2 years of electioneering.

[The_Squid]

...trying to pin this on the Conservatives is merely partisan hackery

Harper himself railed against this law.... and then does nothing about it when he comes to power. Who else should I pin that on???

[The_Squid]

Well. If they get a majority they might have time to deal with issues like this. If it is another minority I would expect another 2 years of electioneering.

ahhh... the old and tired "we're just a minority" excuse.

[scribblet]

If it's so bad why didn't the Liberals try to change it when they were in power. Maybe they like it and would never support a bill from Harper which Harper knows - really the knee jerk reactions to this are amazing. ( well maybe not)

[nittanylionstorm07]

All it will take is a pool of 20 or so americans rewteeting private tweets to render the law irrelavant.

What would they honestly do to private Canadian citizens tweeting things of the sort... tear down the door like some sort of Chinese secret police force?

[Dave_ON]

ahhh... the old and tired "we're just a minority" excuse.

And generally hot on it's heels is "We're no worse than the Liberals"

[Dave_ON]

If it's so bad why didn't the Liberals...

And thank you for making my point.

[scribblet]

And thank you for making my point.

Which is what, that the Liberals really like it ?

[RNG]

I'm going off memory here, which at my age is always dangerous, but I seem to recall reading about an analysis if US federal election results that did show that as one of the parties gained more and more seats in the East, the voting patterns drifted in the west to increase voting in favour of the leading party. Trying a quick google and couldn't find it. Any of you recall that?

[nittanylionstorm07]

I'm going off memory here, which at my age is always dangerous, but I seem to recall reading about an analysis if US federal election results that did show that as one of the parties gained more and more seats in the East, the voting patterns drifted in the west to increase voting in favour of the leading party. Trying a quick google and couldn't find it. Any of you recall that?

I have never heard of that. There is a very different dynamic in the US as opposed to Canada.

[Handsome Rob]

I'm going off memory here, which at my age is always dangerous, but I seem to recall reading about an analysis if US federal election results that did show that as one of the parties gained more and more seats in the East, the voting patterns drifted in the west to increase voting in favour of the leading party. Trying a quick google and couldn't find it. Any of you recall that?

I think the opposite would be true here. If Harper managed to take 5 or 10 seats in lower Ontario, BC would probably stop him from continuing to a majority.

[guyser]

I'm going off memory here, which at my age is always dangerous, but I seem to recall reading about an analysis if US federal election results that did show that as one of the parties gained more and more seats in the East, the voting patterns drifted in the west to increase voting in favour of the leading party. Trying a quick google and couldn't find it. Any of you recall that?

I recall the same thing, Californians and the like were seeing the East results which resulted in a slight surge (or so they said) in Obamas numbers.

I couldnt find anything, but there is a study that suggest it makes less than 1% difference.

[bush_cheney2004]

All it will take is a pool of 20 or so americans rewteeting private tweets to render the law irrelavant.

....or American news media outlets with Canadian cable/satellite viewers/listeners. The Captain's Quarters easily circumvented the Gomery Hearings publication ban.

[TimG]

American news media outlets with Canadian cable/satellite viewers/listeners.

American news media has not been that interested in the past.

[bush_cheney2004]

American news media has not been that interested in the past.

Maybe not, but this story has gotten American attention....the rest will follow.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504943_162-20056157-10391715.html

[ToadBrother]

....or American news media outlets with Canadian cable/satellite viewers/listeners. The Captain's Quarters easily circumvented the Gomery Hearings publication ban.

I think the wider point, as we're seeing with all kinds of things that people would rather not be made publicly accessible, is that the technology and the near-instantaneous nature of communications is making a lot of these rules, whether they're sensible or not, meaningless. Like super injunctions in the UK, which stop British media from giving out the identities of those who have got one, but cannot ever hope to stop the average Brit from going to cnn.com and finding out anyways.

No law can ever be perfectly enforced, but when a law becomes effectively unenforceable, the time has come to admit it and kill the law.

There will be dozens of foreign sites well known and obscure posting results. Anybody with a web browser is going to know results as they are tabulated if they so want, so whether or not the potential for strategic voting or whatever it is that Elections Canada fears is real, there's nothing to be done. Prosecuting a Canadian who flaunts the law when dozens of Brits, Americans and who the hell knows who else who are completely beyond prosecution only demonstrates the unfairness of the law.

The only solution is to have the polls open and close at the same damned time.