INDEPENDENT for LESS GOVERNMENT

I hope to run in the next provincial election as an INDEPENDENT candidate in my local riding of Haliburton - Kawartha Lakes - Brock. However, Elections Ontario has presented a snag….

In my preparation,

I found that election regulations may to be an obstacle to my goal. Here’s how.

First, I read the Candidates Guide . Nowhere in its 40 pages is there any mention of running as an Independent Candidate. It’s as if this is not an option and that only party politics exists.

Next, I found on page 6 of F0400 Candidate Nomination Paper, the only reference to running as an Independent Candidate that I could find. A single check box appears as the sole instruction in its 18 pages, and it stipulates the following:

“I am an independent candidate and want ”Independent” to appear on the ballot below my name.”

Here’s the snag.

What I actually want is for “Independent for LESS GOVERNMENT” to appear below my name on every ballot.

I contacted the Elections Ontario “help” line

It wasn’t helpful.

I spoke with a nice lady who told me that candidates must abide by the regulations as written. She suggested that I forward a request for a change to the regulations so that the EO officials might fix this issue for future elections. At age 73, this suggestion was of no “help” to me. However, she provided an email address to send my request to those senior EO officials which I did. Here is what I wrote in my letter to Elections Ontario.

Independent for LESS GOVERNMENT- an urgent request.

Dear sir or madam,

I wish to register as a Candidate in the upcoming Ontario election.

According to Part C: Candidate Nomination Paper, I will be listed as an “Independent” on the election ballot if I choose to run without Party affiliation.

NOTE: I will only run if I am allowed to appear on my riding’s ballot as “Independent for LESS GOVERNMENT”.

This is important for several reasons:

1. My constituents deserve to know what I stand for as a political candidate. Without the rich resources of, and government subsidies given to, the major parties, nor any election coverage by corporate media outlets, my message will have very limited reach EXCEPT IF the ballot states my purpose for running.

2. Many citizens have stopped voting because they have lost confidence and trust in the major parties which seem only intent on increasing the size, cost, scope of authority of government operations, and incurring more public debt. How many of those people would return to the ballot box if they knew that at least one candidate represents their LESS GOVERNMENT preference?

3. I have run ten times as a Libertarian in the past. As a small party, few citizens understand what Libertarian candidates actually represent as an election option, and the party lacks the resources to educate the public at large. The LESS GOVERNMENT option is clear. In an “electoral democracy”, the LESS GOVERNMENT option should be available on every ballot in every election so that MORE GOVERNMENT is not the only choice, and the inevitable outcome.

4. Freedom of speech and freedom of representation, promised by Canada’s constitution, signifies that I have a right to present this LESS GOVERNMENT ballot option to the ~60,000+ voters in the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock riding where I have lived since 2016. Please honour those rights and allow me to define my candidacy as a legitimate ballot option for LESS GOVERNMENT rather than being restricted to your policy to list me blandly as just an “independent”.

I have very little time before the writ drops.

Please confirm that I can appear on the ballot as an Independent for LESS GOVERNMENT.

I am already known locally as an Advocate for Less Government which has been stated on my personal card for a long time. It is therefore appropriate that I be allowed to represent this LESS GOVERNMENT choice on the ballot for others to consider.

Please respond with your approval ASAP.

Regards

Gene Balfour

“Electoral Democracy” is not Democracy until…

In every election, voters are generally encouraged to vote for one of the BORG (blue, orange, red or Green) candidates in their riding. Every one of those parties represents MORE GOVERNMENT which inevitably increases the size, cost and scope of authority of public sector institutions, and imposes more public debt on current and future generations.

I believe that no election is truly democratic unless the option to declare a preference for LESS GOVERNMENT is on every election ballot.

That option does not need to be represented by a human candidate. Instead, it could be seen as advice given to the future governing party(ies).

Every voter deserves to ability to declare that choice and expect to see it on every ballot.

If the electoral majority declares a preference for LESS GOVERNMENT, then the party that wins the election must acknowledge the will of the public and act to reduce the public sector. This ballot option will provide a motive for more citizens to vote - especially those who have lost trust and faith in the BORG.

In this election, I hope to register to represent the LESS GOVERNMENT option. If allowed by Elections Ontario, voters in my riding will, for the first time, be able to explicitly express this preference.

Ideally, however, all future elections in Canada should feature the following standard question:

Do you want LESS GOVERNMENT?

YES or NO

As a citizen, do you approve of this idea? Should Independent candidates be allowed to be listed on election ballots as advocates for LESS GOVERNMENT?

OR would you prefer to check a box on your election ballot to answer the question above without the need for a person to stand as a candidate for that choice?

Please reply.