VANCOUVER—A candidate running with the Safe Surrey Coalition says he was approached by a voter about being targeted in a possible voting fraud scheme that is being investigated by the RCMP.

Jack Hundial, a former RCMP officer now running for city council, said he was contacted on Thursday morning by a concerned voter who claimed they were approached by someone to complete a mail-in ballot form.

The alleged scheme, which was the subject of a complaint to the RCMP last week by citizens’ group Wake Up Surrey, is said to involve “poll captains” who recruit voters to fill out mail-in ballot forms, which are then sent to the poll captains’ homes. The citizens are told not to worry about voting afterward and that it would be taken care of by the poll captain.

Hundial said the person who came forward to him wasn’t aware of the voting fraud allegations until after they spoke to him, and they were “quite shaken up.” He said he didn’t inquire about which parties were involved.

Speaking on behalf of the Safe Surrey Coalition, Hundial said he condemns the alleged voting scheme.

“I want to see people behind it identified and held accountable for the unfair practices,” he said. “Every candidate likes to see a fair and democratic process.”

He added, “Safe Surrey is not involved in this allegation of fraud.”

A spokesperson for the RCMP said their investigation, instigated when police identified 72 mail-in applications with possible “irregularities,” is ongoing.

“They’re trying to verify and investigate each of the 72 applications,” Surrey RCMP spokesperson Elenore Sturko said.

She said officers were out in Surrey on Friday interviewing people who may have further information, and there are “some people they are still waiting to talk to.”

In a statement last Wednesday, the RCMP said “no individuals have come forward to the Surrey RCMP to say that they have been victimized,” but allegations have come in through third parties. They also announced a dedicated tip line for people to call if they have further information about the allegations.

Other parties running in Surrey have condemned the apparent scheme.

Brad Zubyk, campaign manager for Surrey First, said he would personally leave the party if he suspected it of fraud. “If I thought for a second anything untoward is happening, I would resign.”

He added there was a “code of conduct” that volunteers and other people involved with the campaign must follow.

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Last week, Tom Gill, the mayoral candidate for Surrey First, put out a statement in support of the city’s chief election officer, who is also conducting an investigation.

“Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy,” Gill said. “The action being taken by our city’s chief election officer gives me confidence that we’re going to have a fair election and that we can have confidence in the result on Oct. 20.”

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