Misleading fraud claims threaten trust in Canadas election [Video]

With Canada’s April 28 election predicted to be a tight race between Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberals and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives, unproven claims of vote fraud or manipulation continue to surface on social media.

The Canadian Digital Media Research Network found high levels of trust in the electoral process, but flagged an increase in posts questioning the integrity of the election called amid dramatic shifts in sentiment toward the parties.

While claims about faulty voting technology persist in many elections around the world, these can be easily dismissed in Canada where no machines are used to record votes, count ballots or tabulate results in federal contests.

On election night, candidates can send representatives to monitor the hand counting and raise concerns about any suspicious behavior.

This paper-based process led to rumors that pencils provided to mark ballots are leaving the door open for citizens’ votes to be erased.

Advance voting …