Voters must be on guard against an organization that is seeking to control or hijack their votes.
The GRIP team is extremely concerned with allegations of voter fraud in Surrey in relation to the upcoming elections as it would hinder the ability of many unsuspecting residents to participate in the Canadian democracy. The following is an incident that happened to a team member:
A few days ago, GRIP Founder and City ofSurrey resident Jashan S. Randhawa got a phone call from a private caller who identified herself only as ‘Nancy’ and claimed to be from City Hall and asked his address. The caller told Randhawa that her Office was in charge of making sure everyone had gotten voting forms for the upcoming Municipal Elections. When Randhawa asked her for more details, including her full name, which Office she works for in City Hall, and a call back number, the lady said that she has been instructed to not give away any of that information. Randhawa said to the lady that City Hall is supposed to be transparent in these matters, and wanted to know the reason for hiding her name as an employee and for hiding which Office she was calling from in City Hall. The caller began to accuse Randhawa for asking too much information. Then, Randhawa began to suspect that the lady was trying to gain access to his family’s voting forms for fraudulent purposes. Randhawa told the caller that he has been hearing about voter fraud in the news, and if the caller is truly a City of Surrey employee but hiding their identity and purposes, he will inform the police. At this, the lady began to stutter and could not speak clearly anymore, at which point Randhawa hung up, and sent a call trace report to his phone provider and the police. Numerous other residents have come forward since last Summer and claimed that they were intimidated and pressured into giving their mail-in ballots and voting for certain candidates. In recent days, the Surrey-based anti-crime group Wake Up Surrey has been alleging that a large coordinated voter fraud scheme is targeting South Asian voters in Surrey. Wake up Surrey has notified the RCMP of a fraudulent 600+ member organization that is collecting mail-in ballot, forging signatures and even buying votes.
Some candidates and residents have called for an immediate suspension of all mail-in voting for the Oct. 20 election. The Vancouver Sun reports as of October 1st, four teams have condemned the alleged voter fraud and support Wake Up Surrey’s efforts to expose it, including Safe Surrey Coalition, Integrity Now, People First and Proudly Surrey.
The GRIP team also urges voters to stay vigilant against manipulative tactics of people who seek to hijack your vote, including through deception or bribes. Such acts undermine the very foundation of democracy and take away your right to choose a candidate who represents you, your needs and those of your community. We ask that you take the opportunity on Oct. 20th, 2018 to vote for yourself, for the candidate that would best represent you and your community.
Date: October 1, 2018