A report from Manitoba’s elections commissioner says roughly half of the inmates at a jail west of Winnipeg did not get the chance to vote in the last provincial election.
Commissioner Bill Bowles says miscommunication and a series of events resulted in the polls closing and election workers leaving the Headingley Correctional Centre before many inmates could cast ballots.
Bowles says what happened on voting day in October 2023 was unfortunate and accidental, so he is not recommending any charges under the Elections Act.
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Part of the issue was that two teams of elections workers were supposed to go to the jail, but only one team went.
Polling stations can stay open well after 8 p.m. to allow voting to finish, but voting officers mistakenly believed they had to pack up and get back to the returning office before 9 p.m.
Elections Manitoba has outlined a list of changes to the process, and Bowles says they are reasonable and should be effective.
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