Voter ID cards not enough, feds argue

Advocacy groups claim it is difficult for students, homeless to get documents

Fraud and reduced public confidence in the electoral system could result if voter information cards are used as valid ID at the polls, lawyers for the federal government argued in court Friday.

The government is fighting an injunction request to suspend a key identification provision in its Fair Elections Act.

The Council of Canadians and the Canadian Federation of Students are asking the court to restore the power of Canada’s chief electoral officer to recognize voter information cards as one form of valid ID — a power taken away in the act — in time for the fall election. Government lawyer Christine Mohr said in court there is “a long history of concern” over the use of voter information cards.

Questions over security, reliability and incidents of misuse and fraud prompted changes the Harper government made to voter identification laws last year, she said.

Mohr warned that ineligible voters could cast a ballot using the cards as one form of identification and the public’s confidence in the electoral system as a whole would be diminished.

The council and federation argued in court Thursday that there is little evidence of intentional voter fraud. Mohr countered that safeguards against ineligible voters casting a ballot are still required.

“Whether as a result of fraud or by mistake doesn’t matter, there is still an irregularity that affects the election result,” she said.

The potential damage from allowing voter information cards as valid ID is greater than any potential damage caused by not allowing people to use the cards, she said.

In 2011, 400,000 voters used the voter information card as valid ID as part of a pilot project. Mohr says it’s unknown how many of those actually needed the card because they had no other option.

If some of those who used the card had another option, then those voters will be able to cast a ballot in the next election.

The cards may make it easier for some people to vote, but convenience is not the government’s duty, Mohr said, adding that voters can chose from dozens of different forms of identification, and those documents are easy to obtain.

“There is no constitutional requirement for this particular document,” Mohr said.

She said that the 45 accepted forms of identification include many government-issued documents, such as a statement of benefits for employment insurance, the Canada Pension Plan or a tax assessment.

The advocacy groups raised concerns that it is difficult for certain groups, including students and the homeless, to get identification with a current address so they can vote where they live.