Legal documents alleging voting irregularities in the 2024 BC provincial election at a mental health-oriented group home in the Surrey-Guildford riding include claims of patients being pressured to fill out mail-in ballots they never requested.
The community residential program facility in question, Argyll Lodge, is serviced by the Fraser Health Authority and its manager has since disputed the concerns first raised by BC Conservative leader John Rustad and former Conservative candidate for the riding, Honveer Singh Randhawa, last week.
Rustad has called for an urgent independent inquiry to investigate the alleged discrepancies and Randhawa has submitted a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer alleging impropriety.
The complaint included several statutory declarations from residents of Argyll Lodge, which allege how they were encouraged to fill out mail-in ballots but not informed that there was a voting location directly across from their facility.
“I was rushed into marking the ballot, I do not know who I have voted for, I marked the ballot where they pointed it and I was led to believe that I had no choice but to mark the ballot otherwise I feared that I would be kicked out of the house,” reads one resident’s statement.
Another sworn legal statement by a resident claimed that many of the Lodge’s residents are “mentally upset” and “talk to themselves and do not appear to know what they are doing as they are unable to articulate to the staff their daily needs and are even unable to respond to basic conversations.”
“For these “Mentally Upset” residents, who are unable to articulate their preferences, I do not believe they are capable of marking their own ballot. I believe the staff at the Lodge either marked the ballots for them or instructed them to mark a box as per the staff’s preference,” said the unnamed resident.
Another resident is quoted as saying that they “did not ask the manager or any staff member at the Lodge to order a mail-in ballot on my behalf, nor did I order it by myself. The vote-by-mail package was ordered without my instructions or consent.”
Rustad alleges that the Surrey-Guildford riding displayed evidence of 45 votes cast in the recent election that would have failed “even the most basic smell test in a democracy.”
None of the claims have been proven in a court of law and Elections BC has said they will be looking into the allegations. The BC Conservatives have promised to file a complaint with the RCMP alleging violations of the Election Act.
Among the irregularities posited by Rustad were 21 mail-in ballot votes cast by the lodge’s residents in the Surrey-Guildford riding, which was won by NDP candidate Gery Begg by a mere 22 votes.
“The licensed capacity of Argyll Lodge is 25 beds,” reads the Conservative’s release. “Argyll Lodge is across the street from Guildford Park Secondary School, the nearest polling station, located just 80 metres away.”
Some of the residents of the facility denied having ever requested a mail-in ballot or “being aware that a provincial election was even taking place.”
“A resident of Argyll Lodge said they were instructed how to complete their mail-in ballot package by a third party,” the release continues. “The manager of Argyll Lodge, listed in a Fraser Health inspection report bears the same name as an individual who made a $1,400 donation to the BC NDP in 2023.”
Argyll Lodge did not respond to True North’s request for comment, directing any inquiries to Elections BC, which also declined to respond.
However, the facility’s manager, Baljit Kandola previously told Global News that “there’s no truth to the matter.”
Elections BC donation data lists Kandola’s name alongside a $1,400 donation to the BC NDP.
Other irregularities include a resident of that same riding voting twice with two slightly different names, while another 22 voters cast ballots in the Surrey-Guildford riding despite not actually residing there, which should have rendered their votes invalid.
“A judge can compel testimony under the Public Inquiry Act,” said Rustad. “It is urgent that the individuals involved in the Argyll Lodge operation are identified and made to answer some obvious questions.”
Rustad has called for a 90-day amnesty period from prosecution for anyone who comes forward with information relating to 2024 election irregularities.
“After the election, David Eby proposed that an all-party committee of the legislature review the elections process ‘to support public confidence.’ Since then, Eby has done nothing,” said Rustad.
Eby responded to questions about the irregularities in an interview with CBC News last week, saying that Rustad claims had “echoes of American-style politics.”
“It’s all a little bit cringe. If that’s how he wants to spend his time, that’s okay,” he said. “It’s a bit like a Leafs fan who says ‘if we only scored enough goals, we would have made it through the playoff round.’ In my opinion, if there’s something serious, Elections BC and the courts will find it.”
