X-rated

Hmmm. According to Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act:

No person shall transmit the result or purported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public in another electoral district before the close of all of the polling stations in that other electoral district.

So let's say that, on Monday night, the Conservatives start sweeping through the Maritime provinces or Newfoundland. Will the Blogging Tories be able to contain their glee and stick to the law before the polls close in B.C.? Will bigfoot bloggers such Andrew Coyne or web fora such as Free Dominion stifle the commentariat who might be posting results with no regard for the rules?

Just asking.

I can tell you this: I will be here monitoring the TV coverage Monday night, and blogging about it. I hope you will join me, and share your views. But I can't approve any comments that reference any results in any riding until 10 p.m. ET.

You have to wonder how Elections Canada is going to be able to monitor this.

Comments

[JOEY]

i thought the hours were staggered in each province to prevent this from happening... am i wrong?

[Antonia Z.]

They are staggered, yes. But they still close in B.C. at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

[Scott]

Hey Zerb, I told my girlfriend's buddy in Vancouver who won the first installment of Survivor before it even happened. Is that the same thing?

For the record, I haven't watched it since.

[Brampton Pete]

And why would it just be conservative sites tempted to break the ban?

Just asking.

[Hishighness]

I hate that stupid law, I wish the networks would spend a few bucks and get a real lawyer to challenge it. Thankfully I live in Nova Scotia so I'm only forced to miss 30 minutes of the coverage by this idiocy.

[Antonia Z.]

Brampton Pete ...

I never said it would ''just be conservative sites."

I said "So let's say ..."

[Non Partisan Neil]

Christ Almighty........ I just wish this election was over with. After 8 weeks, it is driving me nucking futs, and to think there will be at least (if not more) 2 week analysis of who dunnit. But I do seem some light – The Winter Olympics and again thank Christ for that!

[Bill Lee]

Isn't blogging the election
results as they come in much like
blogging a souffle as it rises in
an oven window? Not worth the while
Let's just wait until the morning
and see where the close votes are
and use the new
Community profiles
http://www12.statcan.ca/english/profil01/CP01/Index.cfm?Lang=E
to speculate about troglodytes and dags of the left and right
and centre.

[Antonia Z.]

Bill ..
I won't be blogging the election. I will be blogging the Tv coverage of the election. But you can be sure many others will be blogging the elction, or offering up their comments.

It will be a night of triumphalism, tragedy and terror.

Gonna be fun!

[Robert McClelland]

"You have to wonder how Elections Canada is going to be able to monitor this."

They'll likely just monitor the most widely known and professional blogs and if only isolated cases break the law they'll probably ignore it. If it's widespread on the other hand, they'll probably select one or two of the worst offenders to make examples out of.

Now the real question and dilemma for Elections Canada is whether or not a blogger could get away with it by coding the results. For example, could a blogger post that Newfoundland zoo officials are warning residents that while no crazy hyenas escaped from the zoo, 3 slithering snakes and one mother hen did; with the crazy hyenas obviously referring to the conservatives, the slithering snakes referring to the liberals and the mother hen referring to the new democrats.

Antonia said: "... a night of triumphalism, tragedy and terror."

You've just provided yourself with the title for your new book on politics and media in Canada. ;-)

[Antonia Z.]

Hmmm ... I think you're right. Only my book would be fiction. Sort of. A roman a clef. And xxx-rated.

[Bill Lee]

OK, not blogging election but the
burnouts on election central (Bernard Derome has
been doing this for 40! years and is
the decision maker for SR-C. Watch
the French channel too)

Will the blog world do a better job and
faster than the TV (radio?) election desks?

Will the graphics be prettier than the
map mashups at
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2006/01/canadian-election-google-maps-mashups.html

I think that is as inhuman and cruel
for both the presenters and the audience as
with a Survivor or a Fear Factor show.

Besides it is the Aspers empire who has most to win
or lose in this election as the boys
try to get out of their daddy's debt load.

I say elections every 18 months and death to the losers,
and chopping off the right hand of supporters and moneybags
so we can spit on them in the streets.

Antonia said: "Hmmm ... I think you're right. Only my book would be fiction. Sort of. A roman a clef. And xxx-rated."

Write it how you like - it could be all of the above and still be true. lol

[Andrew]

Well, I disagree 100% with this so called "gag law" and will be posting "hints" on the results but not actual results.

Gag laws suck.