Oct. 21 election date to cause lower turnout from Jewish community, Waterloo rabbi says

The federal election remains scheduled for October 21, despite coinciding with the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.

The recommendation came Elections Canada on Monday, after the Federal Court ordered a review into the matter last week.

Waterloo rabbi Moshe Goldman says that those who observe the holiday are forbidden from performing any labour, which includes writing.

"What that means effectively is that any Jewish Canadian who is observant cannot vote on election day," he said in an interview with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

Advance polling also tricky

"There is no such thing as a perfect election day, especially in a country as diverse as Canada. There are always Canadians who are unable to vote on election day," said Chief Electoral Officer, Stéphane Perrault in a written decision.

"There are several days during the election period ... where voting is not in conflict with their religious beliefs and where the special ballot process is open to [observant Jewish electors]," he continued.

Normally advance polling would be an appropriate alternative, Goldman said, but October is a holiday-heavy month for the Jewish religion. Advance polling dates are October 11-14. Yom Kippur is on Oct. 8, while Sukkot (the Festival of Ingathering) takes place from Oct. 13-20.

Although the dates don't overlap entirely, Goldman likened the situation to Christmas Eve.

"It's not the day of the holiday but it's a really crazy day. You have people traveling to be with family. You have lots of cooking and preparing going on for a holiday," he explained.

He expressed concerns that these holidays are less recognizable to a non-Jewish public, and therefore believed to be less important. Goldman believes that higher profile holidays, like Rosh Hashanah, may have been treated differently.

Effect on the election

"People can decide I'm going to make a conscious choice and I'm choosing to exercise their democratic rights as opposed to getting ready for the holiday…. But practically speaking the turnout just won't be the same."

In Waterloo region, a lower turnout from Jewish Canadians would not affect any particular riding because the community isn't geographically concentrated, Goldman said. But in ridings where that is the case, he believes this could influence the outcome of the election.

Goldman said choosing a more accommodating date should have been a 'no brainer.'

"It wouldn't have taken much for a junior staffer at Elections Canada to be told 'go scan through the next ten years of all the religions' holidays in Canada and make sure that we don't conflict.'"