Non-citizen charged for trying to vote in Canada's 2021 federal election

Qinan Feng was fined $1,250 after the Elections Commissioner found he attempted to fraudulently cast a ballot in the 44th general election.

Non-citizen charged for trying to vote in Canada's 2021 federal election
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A non-citizen has been charged by the Office of the Commissioner for Canada Elections after attempting to cast an illegal vote in the 2021 federal election.

The incident began when Qinan Feng called Elections Canada, reporting he'd received a special ballot in the mail — something he said he had not applied for, according to a summary of the violation posted to the elections commissioner's office.

Feng filed a report with the RCMP, claiming someone had fraudulently obtained his identification and issued the request for a special ballot in his name. He then alleged the same unidentified individual attempted to steal the ballot from him.

Investigators, however, obtained evidence proving this false, showing that an application for the special ballot under Feng's name was filled out through an Elections Canada portal and included proof of identification. The IP address used during the application was also linked to Feng's residence.

Nevertheless, Feng received the special ballot, which gives eligible voters the ability to vote by mail or in person at any Elections Canada office. Voters are required to prove their identity and address while submitting an ID either online or through mail or fax. 

After Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirmed Feng was not a Canadian citizen, officials stated there was reasonable grounds to believe he, knowing he was not a citizen, attempted to vote during the 2021 federal election.

The commissioner's office said Feng's behaviour afterwards, which amounted to an attempted cover-up of the attempted vote, constituted an aggravating factor in the case. He was fined $1,250.

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