Cambridge, Ont., voids Catholic school board trustee election after ballot error

The clerk in Cambridge, Ont., has stopped the vote for Catholic school board trustees in Monday's municipal election after two candidates were left off the ballot.

Clerk Danielle Manton declared an emergency under section 53 of the Municipal Elections Act on Saturday, "which will void any results for the English-separate school board election on Monday."

Manton said that so far, 1,700 ballots were cast in the city for Catholic school board trustees. The other parts of those ballots, for city and regional positions, will still be counted on Monday.

Manton did not say which two candidates were left off the ballot.

A new election for Catholic school board trustees will be held in November. The exact date has not yet been determined.

Manton said in a media release that the two candidate names were omitted during the proofing stage with the vendor that made the ballots for the city.

Manton said declaring the emergency was "the only course of action."

"The decision, made in consultation with legal counsel, will ensure the integrity is maintained for the election for the English-Separate School Board," Manton said.

North Dumfries ballots to be sealed

There are six candidates running for school board trustee for the Waterloo Catholic District School Board to represent the City of Cambridge and the Township of North Dumfries, Ont.

The candidates are:

• Winston Francis.
• David Guerin.
• Jesse Keels.
• Michael John Rattee.
• Marisa Phillips.
• Robert Sikora.

The emergency declared by Manton is only for Cambridge. The ballots in North Dumfries Township included all six certified candidates.

After Monday's election, the North Dumfries Township ballots will be sealed and sent to Manton's office where they will be held onto until Cambridge voters cast a ballot next month. Then all the results will be released at the same time.

Candidates react

In a statement, Phillips said the news about the ballots "made my heart sink."

"I'm shocked that only two days before the election, after thousands of votes have already been cast, the city finally noticed missing trustee candidates on ballots," Phillips said.

"I understand that mistakes can be made and they must be forgiven. However, I can't deny that this process has been both frustrating and troubling."

Jayne Herring, an incumbent candidate in Cambridge for the Waterloo Region District School Board, tweeted that people should be reminded the election of public school board trustees was still on.