Implicit voter suppression: Are we witnessing the opening of a new bag of dirty tricks?

Pressured by the Harperites, Elections Canada played perfectly into their Rove-like voter repression strategy in suspending special ballot voting on campuses across the country. If I were a university student, no matter what my voter preference, I'd be appalled if not outraged at such an anti-democractic tactic, and it amazes me how few pundits and media types have twigged to what's really going on here.

Aware of well-established voting trends on campus, the Harperites know that this potential campus vote is not, in general, going to favour them; it's going to be for one of the other four parties. And so, in addition to all the strong-arm assaults against students at Harperite rallies, we now have another manipulative, unethical way to work towards that coveted majority. What further imported Republican-style dirt tricks are we now going to witness during the remainder of the campaign? This is really scary.

I urge all those students who want to vote on campus but will not be able to do so to bring your energy and passion for voting to your home riding. The future is yours to lose.

Barry Cameron is a retired university professor who taught at the University of Toronto and the University of New Brunswick. He has always thought that students matter. This piece was originally posted on his blog Politics and Entertainment.