OTTAWA – Jail time should “definitely be considered” if the ongoing investigation into the robocalls affair finds voters were intentionally suppressed during last spring’s federal election campaign, said the former head of Elections Canada.

“I have not been quoted saying that often, even in my years at Elections Canada,” Jean-Pierre Kingsley said in an interview on The West Block with Tom Clark. “This is at the very core of our system.”

Elections Canada revealed this week that it has received 31,000 complaints or inquiries relating to harassing or misleading calls during last year’s six-week campaign.

Allegations that voters in some ridings were sent to incorrect or non-existent ballot boxes on May 2 have become the subject of a joint RCMP and Elections Canada investigation.

“It’s a constitutional right we have, to vote,” Kingley said. “And to see anyone trample on that, to see anyone try to influence that in a negative way is, in my view, something that is major.”

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SOUNDOFF: What do you think of the allegations of voter suppression? We want to hear from you.

Elections Canada will present a report to Parliament once it has concluded its investigation, at which point Canadians will learn whether there was a concerted effort to suppress the vote — and whether there was one rogue volunteer behind that effort or if it was part of a larger conspiracy.

The numbers fluctuate, but Global News has confirmed 50 ridings across the country where voter suppression allegations have been made.

The complaints arise from two types of phone calls made to voters.

The first is what is being called a robocall, and is either a computerized voice or a recorded message sent to hundreds — and perhaps thousands — of voters. In other cases, live operators were at the other end of the line.

In both cases, the person receiving the call was reportedly incorrectly told their polling stations had changed at the last minute on election day.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the accusations are little more than an “unsubstantiated smear campaign” orchestrated by New Democrats and Liberals.

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Harassing voters with robocalls is not illegal in itself, but trying to prevent someone from voting is illegal.

Under the Canada Elections Act, interfering with an individual’s right to vote is punishable with a maximum of five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. The same maximum penalties apply to impersonating an official and misusing the voters list Elections Canada supplies.

Investigators will have to find proof not only of illegal tactics, but also who was behind them.

Allen Raymond, a former Republican operative in the United States who was incarcerated for his tactics, said that what he knows of the situation leads him to believe there was a systematic effort — not one or two rogue campaigners.

“Certainly, that smacks of the denial of civil rights, and I think it’s certainly a devolution of the democratic process,” he said.

The kinds of robocalls currently under investigation, he said, are part of a type of tactic that is dreamed up late one night in a campaign headquarters.

“Someone thinks it’s a great idea, and before you know it it’s off and running,” Raymond said in an interview on The West Block. “That’s certainly what happened in my situation.”

Raymond was working for the Republican National Committee and jammed telephone lines of the Democratic party on election day in 2002.

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The jammed phone banks had been set up to tell the electorate where to vote, when the polls where open and whether they could get a ride to the polling stations.

There was a subsequent federal investigation, which led to prosecutions and convictions. Raymond was incarcerated in a federal facility for three months for his involvement.

In Canada, new information is being unveiled every day, with the robocalls affair showing no sign of going away any time soon.

If anything positive can be taken from this controversy, Kingsley said, it’s the reaction from Canadian voters.

“The message is out,” he said. “Canadians will be on the watch, and political operatives will be very careful about what they do with our electoral system. And I think we will see them respecting the law, with integrity.”

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