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Several members of the Guelph Conservative riding association have left the group because they are unhappy with the way the central party reacted when local election worker Michael Sona was charged in connection with a fraudulent robocall that sent hundreds of Guelph, Ont., residents to the wrong poll on election day.

Sona, 24, is to face a single charge of “having wilfully prevented or endeavoured to prevent an elector from voting at an election.” Sona, who was 22 at the time of the election, says he is innocent, and has done media interviews complaining that the Conservative party is trying to make him the fall guy for what happened in Guelph.

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It’s a message that appears to have connected with some local Conservatives.

Marty Burke, the candidate in the last election, has left the board that runs the local Conservative riding association, as has his wife, Trish, and several other longtime volunteers. Burke could not be reached for comment, but sources say local Conservatives are upset that the party welcomed the news that Sona was charged.