Homeless man fights to change Elections Act

Susan Lazaruk, The Province
Published: Sunday, November 04, 2007

A homeless man who lives on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is among those petitioning the court to have recent amendments to the Canada Elections Act thrown out, arguing they're unconstitutional.

Clyde Wright lacks the proper documentation -- picture ID with a current address -- required to vote in federal elections, according to the petition filed in B.C. Supreme Court.

Without proper ID voters will need someone with ID who lives in the same polling division to vouch for them.

Included among the petitioners are Rose Henry,a once homeless person who lives in Victoria who runs the risk of becoming homeless again, and a number of advocacy groups who represent others unlikely to have the proper identification -- including a coalition of people with disabilities, a seniors' group, a tenants' association and a group representing drug addicts.

The petition notes that a native "status card" isn't sufficient because it doesn't bear an address, and that the elderly and the disabled normally wouldn't have a driver's licence, one of the few acceptable pieces of identification.

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