Byelection ballot protest staged in North Sydney

SYDNEY, N.S. — A protest was staged earlier this week over Elections Nova Scotia's handling of more than 100 write-in ballots cast prior to a Cape Breton byelection switch up.

Before nominations closed Aug. 14, a change in candidacy was made in the riding of Northside-Westmount.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston pulled provincial government employee Danny Laffin and replaced him with Murray Ryan, a local chartered accountant.

Houston said Laffin failed to comply with the party’s disclosure process but would not provide any specific details.

For his part, Laffin denied any wrongdoing.

Any vote cast for the PC Party prior to Laffin’s removal will now count toward Ryan, unless Laffin’s name was specifically written on the ballot.

Area resident Erica Clarke, who openly supports Laffin, says she feels voter rights are being violated.

“All of his friends, his family, his volunteers — quite a few people had gone up and voted,” said Clarke. “A lot of people they vote for the person who is in front of the party.”

Although she hasn’t voted yet Clarke said she feels this is a non-partisan issue that could be rectified by allowing voters to recast their ballots.

She staged a protest Monday in the parking lot of the North Sydney Mall, which serves as a Northside-Westmount polling station.

Clarke said the write-in ballot instructions do not lend themselves to adding in a candidate’s name who has already been assigned to a political party.

The ballot tells voters if your candidate is “independent or you do not know your candidate’s party write the candidate’s name in the space below."

Elections Nova Scotia spokeswoman Naomi Shelton said 135 write-in ballots were cast within Northside-Westmount when Laffin was registered as the PC candidate.

“There won’t be any recasting of votes, so that decision stands, and that is the process we’ll apply to the counting on Election Day,” said Shelton.

“We have had calls from citizens in that community and that is our decision and our message.”

Now an independent canadidate, Laffin has said the issue surrounding his removal as the PC candidate relates to an allegation first made 20 years ago that he said was later proven false.