Legislation against veiled voting would pander to anti-Muslim feeling while addressing a problem that doesn't exist

As a general rule, the less legislation the better. Government should act only where there is a problem and action can make a difference.

Moral panic is a bad basis for making laws -- look at Canada's pointless criminal laws against "crime comics" (nobody even knows what they are -- but whatever they are they were a big deal 60 years ago).

And so the fear of "veiled voting".

It's about a prevalent as "nude voting" (and far less common than "drunk voting").

Specifically, there has not been a single instance of an individual attempting to vote with their face covered since 2007.
Let's be clear -- proposed legislation against veiled voting is directed against Islamic head coverings such as burkas or niqabs. No one tries to vote in a Halloween mask or a ski mask. And while I don't like women covering their faces -- I see it as demeaning to women and men -- I don't see legislation is necessary or appropriate.

All the proposed legislation would do is pander to anti-Muslim feeling while addressing a problem that doesn't exist.
Conservative MP wants veiled voting banned

Laura Stone, Postmedia News
Friday, Feb. 11, 2011


OTTAWA — A Conservative MP introduced a private member's bill on Friday that would require Canadians to show their faces before they vote.

Steven Blaney, who represents the Quebec riding of Levis-Bellechasse, said the bill would fix a "gap"in the electoral system and is not meant to discriminate against Muslims.

"For me it is important that we all share this transparency,"said Blaney. "We are all proud to live in this country, we are all proud to share (its) basic principles. I think one of these basic principles is transparency through our election and democratic process, so that's why I'm presenting this bill and it is applying to everybody and treating everybody in the same way," he said.

Blaney steered clear of mentioning Islamic head coverings such as burkas or niqabs in his press conference to introduce the bill, instead drawing on examples such as Halloween and ski masks that he said Canadians have donned while attempting to vote.

He also said that while citizens are still allowed to vote by mail, his bill only addresses the process of voting at an election booth. The bill includes an exception for medical reasons.

Elections Canada has an "administrative procedure" in place for validating identities when faces are covered, said spokesman John Enright.

The voter can remove the face-covering in private, or swear an oath of eligibility certifying that they are qualified electors as well as providing two pieces of identification. Anyone who refuses to remove the covering or say the oath will not be permitted to vote, said Enright.
...
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he disagrees with the Elections Canada procedure outlined by Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand.