Some Jewish Quebecers frustrated they can’t vote
Some Côte-St-Luc residents who are observant Jews are upset they won’t be able to vote in this year’s provincial election not only because Monday is a Jewish holiday but they’ve also been unable to cast ballots at advance polling stations amid widespread computer glitches.
One voter told the Montreal Gazette that when he complained to a representative of Elections Quebec, he was told, “Oh, you Jews and your holidays.”
As a result of the fixed-date election law adopted in the National Assembly by all political parties in 2013, Quebec elections now take place on the first Monday of October every four years. This year, Monday’s vote coincides with Shemini Atzeret, a Jewish holiday.
To accommodate for religious holidays and other commitments by voters, Elections Quebec scheduled seven dates for early voting from Sept. 23 to Thursday.
But some Côte- St-Luc residents lamented that they gave up on voting on those dates after facing hours-long delays and computer snafus at polling stations.
“To tell you the truth, I felt violated because for me voting is a sacred civil right,” said Carla Sulzbach, who has a PhD in religious studies from McGill University.
“I think it’s very important, whether it’s voting in local or national elections.”
In a letter to the Montreal Gazette, Sulzbach criticized authorities for failing to consider the needs of the Jewish community.
“An additional problem with the entire election schedule is that it falls right in the middle of the Jewish holidays, including Oct. 1 itself and on three of the seven advance polling dates,” Sulzbach explained.
“On those days, a large segment of Montreal’s sizable Jewish population is not able to cast their votes — especially in ridings like D’Arcy McGee and the one including Outremont (where) those numbers are significant.”
Sulzbach, who is 64, first tried to vote on Sept. 23, but gave up in frustration after waiting for nearly an hour at a polling station where the lengthy voter’s line failed to move the whole time she was there. She then tried to vote twice on Thursday but the computer system that’s used for verifying voters was down for hours.
So for the first time in her life, Sulzbach won’t be able to vote.
Yaniv Loran, who is also a Côte St-Luc resident and a candidate for the Quebec Conservative Party in D’Arcy-McGee, said he warned Elections Quebec about the logistical challenges of voting during the Jewish holidays.
“When I was talking to someone at Elections Quebec ... and saying this is a problem, they told me, ‘So vote on Monday.’” Loran recalled. “I said I can’t vote on Monday because it’s a Jewish holiday. The reaction was, ‘Oh, you Jews and your holidays.’ ”
Chantal Auger, the chief electoral officer for the D’Arcy-McGee riding that includes Côte-St-Luc among other areas of the west end, was unavailable to comment on Friday about the concerns raised by Sulzbach and Loran.
Stéphanie Isabel, an Elections Quebec spokesperson, declined to discuss the specifics raised by those two voters, but she did confirm there were computer glitches at advance polling stations across the province on Thursday.
David Birnbaum, who is seeking re-election as the Liberal MNA for D’Arcy-McGee, noted one of his constituents was unable to cast her ballot in advance polling despite the fact that her boss gave her two hours to go vote.
“I deeply respect the solemn and essential job that the director-general of Elections Quebec has — and it’s a tough one — and that is to render easy and accessible the right to vote of all eligible Quebecers,” Birnbaum said. “And I’m concerned that there are some examples of that job not being all that well performed over the past few days.”
Isabel, of Elections Quebec, noted voting hours were extended from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday to account for the computer breakdowns.
“We deplore that situation and are sensitive to the situation of voters who said they were not able to vote,” she said, adding Quebecers can still cast ballots on Monday.
I said I can’t vote on Monday because it’s a Jewish holiday. The reaction was, ‘Oh, you Jews and your holidays.’