Name change
Kitchener reprints 19,500 election ballots after legal challenge
KITCHENER — The City of Kitchener is reprinting about 19,500 ballots for the municipal election in response to a candidate’s request to have her middle name on the ballot.
The move comes after Ward 2 candidate Regan Brussé launched a legal challenge to the city’s decision not to include her middle name, Sunshine, on the ballot for the Oct. 22 municipal election.
Brussé, one of four candidates in Ward 2, said Sunshine is the central focus of her campaign literature, signs, website, buttons, T-shirts and online presence, so it is important to include it on the ballot.
“I always say to people when I’m campaigning or giving a speech, ‘Vote for Sunshine.’ People love it and I know I’m making a connection with them,” she said in a news release in which she announced her legal challenge.
The city said in its own news release Friday evening that city clerk had determined that only first and last names would be printed on the ballot “to make the process of selecting a desired candidate easy and clear for voters.” It added that this was consistent with past practice.
Brussé spoke to the clerk on Sept. 19 and asked that her middle name be included on the ballot, the city said. But because of the work involved in reprinting ballots and reprogramming memory cards, staff decided not to accommodate her request.
On Thursday, the city received notification Brussé was pursuing legal action with a court date set for Oct. 3. The city said that having the matter go to court one week before advance polls “would put the city’s ability to deliver a credible election in jeopardy.”
“Out of an abundance of caution to ensure the election moves forward on schedule with absolute integrity, the city will be reprinting ballots for Ward 2, and reprogramming memory cards and tabulator machines,” the city said.
It added that the clerk contacted 11 other candidates who included a middle name or middle initial on their nomination applications to allow them the option of including that information on the ballot. It said all of them were satisfied with having only their first and last names on the ballot.
Brussé said the city’s decision to reprint the ballots brings fairness to the election.
“The fairness this will allow the voters, through the elimination of any confusion that would have been produced through this discrepancy, has been returned to this election. For this I am most grateful,” she said in a statement Saturday.
“I am a woman who stands up for what I believe in,” she added. “This is what the public has witnessed. The equality represented within this decision and fairness brought forth in this decision, is what I strive to bring to this community.”
The city, which also needs to reprogram tabulator memory cards, said it stands behind the clerk’s original decision to include only first and last names for all candidates.
“The decision to reprint ballots and reprogram election equipment at additional costs to taxpayers was not made lightly; it was made with the best interests of the electorate in mind,” it said.
The city said it hasn’t determined the exact cost of reprinting the ballots and reprogramming the memory cards, but it expects the total will be between $20,000 and $25,000.