Elections Canada Warns Social Media Users Not To Post Election Results

Should social media users be prevented from communicating election results from Atlantic Canada to users in Western Canada, where polls are still open? That question is at the heart of both a pending court challenge and a growing user revolt.

Section 329 of the Canada Elections Act provides that no person shall transmit the result or purported result of the vote in an electoral district to the public in another electoral district before the close of all of the polling stations in that other electoral district. Violators of the prohibition can face fines of up to $25,000.

The provision is intended to ensure that all voters have access to the same information, at the same time, regardless of the time zone in which they live – sometimes referred to as "informational equality." The idea is to try to prevent voting results in the East from influencing voting in the West, such as giving rise to strategic voting or voter apathy.