A Montreal man who claimed he was trying to test Canada’s election system has been fined $1,250 for voting twice in the 2019 federal election.
The Commissioner of Canada Elections said Tuesday that David Gilchrist used a special ballot to vote in the riding of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount on Sept. 23, 2019 and then used his father’s voter information card to cast another ballot in the St-Laurent riding on Oct. 11.
The day after his second vote, he admitted to two Elections Canada officials that he voted twice, telling them he was trying to test the electoral system, according to the office of the commissioner, which is responsible for enforcing the Canada Elections Act.
Gilchrist had worked as an election official in municipal, provincial and federal elections in Canada, according to the commissioner. He was also a member of Canadian government observation missions that monitored Ukrainian presidential elections in 2004 and 2014 and was an election observer with the International Civilian Response Corps — CANADEM, a non-governmental organization, during a 2006 election in Haiti.
The commissioner’s office said Gilchrist’s “clear degree of intention” was an aggravating factor that led to a higher fine.