WINNIPEG — Elections Manitoba has fired one of its enumerators, after it was revealed the man is a registered sex offender.
This came after a woman made a call to Elections Manitoba on Thursday, saying she recognized the enumerator in her neighborhood as a convicted sex offender.
Elections Manitoba was then notified, and after an investigation, said the individual was terminated immediately.
“We relieved him of his responsibilities,” said Alison Mitchell of Elections Manitoba. “He’s no longer working for us, and he returned all his election records back to us.”
LISTEN: Elections Manitoba representative talks about how the agency found out the incident
Mitchell said the agency hires enumerators without making applicants go through a criminal background check. The individuals are only required to sign an oath stating they are legally qualified to be hired.
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“It can take weeks for criminal background checks to happen” Mitchell said. “And we hire a large amount of people in a short amount of time,” Mitchell said.
The provincial election agency hires around 3,000 of these temporary workers ahead of every election.
Mitchell said this is the first time this has happened to Elections Manitoba.
Moving forward, the agency will still not require a criminal background check, but said a more “clearly worded oath” has been put in place, which states the restrictions on who can and cannot work for Elections Manitoba.
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