RCMP investigating alleged Surrey election fraud scheme

Surrey City Hall. (City of Surrey)

After receiving a number of third-party complaints regarding an alleged election fraud scheme, the Surrey RCMP say they’re investigating any possible wrongdoing.

Last week, Wake Up Surrey met with the RCMP and explained their concerns over an apparent “well-coordinated” scheme within the municipality’s South Asian community, supporting specific political parties.

According to the community group, they believe that at least one of the political parties is behind the alleged scheme.

The alleged fraudsters have a target goal of attaining 15,000 eligible votes by requesting absentee ballots without the knowledge of the actual voter, and obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter who to vote for.

Another method being used is vote buying by paying voters to cast either an in-person or absentee ballot for a candidate.

The RCMP has confirmed that up to this point, they’ve only received third-party allegations. They’re currently appealing for any potential victims to contact police directly, as a means of expediting the investigation.

According to a media statement released this afternoon, “Surrey RCMP investigators have received a total of 72 mail ballot registration applications from the Surrey’s Chief Elections Officers.”

“Investigators are reviewing each of these application forms and following up with each registrant to ensure the legitimacy of each application.”

Anyone who believes that they’ve been “victimized” or “unduly coerced” for votes or personal information is asked to contact the police at 604-599-7848.

“It is extremely important that we receive first-hand complaints of any individuals who may have been victimized so we can properly investigate these incidents,” says Cpl. Elenore Sturko.

Surrey Chief Elections Officer Anthony Capuccinello Iraci has confirmed that “the election has not been compromised as no ballots were sent out by mail.”

The civic election is scheduled for October 20.

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