Ottawa woman flooded with calls after Elections Ontario phone number mix-up
CBC News | Posted: June 3, 2018 9:00 AM | Last Updated: June 3, 2018
Misprint on voter cards has people calling Nancy Westran for help
A phone number mix-up appears to have turned an Ottawa woman into an Elections Ontario worker against her will.
Nancy Westran says her cell phone has been flooded with calls for help after voter information cards went out in May.
I have to be very abrupt and tell them that I can't answer. - Nancy Westran
There's a toll-free number to reach Elections Ontario on those cards, but the cards do not include the number "one" in front of the toll-free number.
People who dial the number without the number "one" aren't getting through, and Westran said it appears many then try to call using the 613 area code instead — leading them to her.
She said she doesn't want to give those callers information because she doesn't want to confuse them.
"People are asking me questions, and I have to be very abrupt and tell them that I can't answer," Westran said.
Problem hard to fix
Westran said she's received about 70 calls since the voter information cards went out, including five on Friday alone.
She said she expects the call volume to increase as election day approaches.
"The cards cannot be changed. I don't know how many electoral districts this will encompass," she said.
Westran is now simply not answering most of the calls, but if people leave a message she tries to call back to let them know who they should be calling instead.
"I do really think it is my civic duty to make sure that everyone who wants to vote has the opportunity," she said.
"I do call these people back and let them know an error has been made, because I don't want them thinking they are going to get a call back from Elections Ontario and it never comes."
Cara Des Granges, a spokesperson for Elections Ontario, said Westran had reached out and that the agency had apologized for the mistake.