Letter to Vancouver Sun: Polling-station rule banning campaign buttons is fair

My letter to the Vancouver Sun in response to what I think is a selfish view on having campaign promotional items inside (or directly outside) polling stations.

Letter writer Tanya Fink (Nov. 14) vows to “fight the system” so she’ll be allowed to wear a partisan candidate pin into the polling station. One of the staffers even urged her to do so, which is a shame. Fink seeks to undermine one of the basic principles of our voting system — that it is managed by non-partisans in a non-partisan environment.

Election authorities require that there be no partisan signage within 100 metres of the entrance of a polling station. Scrutineers and other volunteers are required not to wear or bring campaign promotion materials into the stations and they’re required to swear not to influence voters in any way. These rules help preserve our electoral system. Fink can surely pocket a button for five minutes for the sake of it.