That's not my X

An investigation has been launched into a voting irregularity after it was discovered at least two ballots in a hamlet near North Bay had already been filled in for the Conservative candidate.

A spokesperson for Elections Canada confirmed that two ballots at a polling station in Chisholm, Ont. in the riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming had previously been filled in and the voters were subsequently given new ballots.

“We will be looking into how it happened,” Rejean Grenier told the Toronto Star.

“We contacted all of the candidates to let them know that that happened and that they might want to have scrutineeers there for the vote count to ensure that everything is on the up and up,” Grenier said.

A spokesperson for Liberal incumbent Anthony Rota, who held the riding, said the campaign on behalf of the candidate had filed a formal complaint.

“It was verified that it was two ballots - that had already been tampered with and there was already an X behind the Conservative candidate (Peter Chirico),” Peter Gavan, Rota’s campaign manager, said.

“This is the kind of thing that happens in some Third World countries,” Gavan said.

Deputy returning officers take the ballots and ballot box home the night before in order to be ready when the polls open, Grenier confirmed.

NDP candidate Dave Fluri said while it was certainly “highly irregular,” he didn’t want top make a big deal of it until he got more information.