Essex Mayor Pleads Guilty and Receives a $ 10K Fine in a Voting by Proxy Case

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Essex City Mayor Larry Snively pleaded guilty in Provincial Crimes Court Friday to improperly obtaining proxy votes in the city’s 2018 municipal elections and was fined $ 10,000.

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“Every vote matters,” said Justice of the Peace Susan Hoffman. “In my opinion, Mr. Snively, your actions and the commission of this crime effectively deprive members of the community of the privilege of voting and of a voice in the government that governs them.”

Snively pleaded guilty in a virtual court appearance to having “induced or procured a person to vote when the person was not entitled to do so.”

In a statement released by Essex city officials after the hearing, Deputy Mayor Richard MeIoche saying, “This is worrying and unfortunate and the council as a whole condemns the actions that lead to this crime.”

The municipality indicated that Sn ively intends to remain in his seat for the remainder of the current council term, but will not run for mayor again in October.

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Indicted under the Municipal Elections Act in early 2020 by Ontario Provincial Police, Snively previously resisted calls to resign his seat, but resigned from the local police services board during the police investigation.

At issue in the case were 34 proxy votes cast by individuals in the 2018 civic elections. A voter who cannot vote in person can designate someone as proxy to cast their vote on their behalf.

Requires an Ontario Elections form stating the designation for the voting power that is completed and signed by the voter. Once the power of attorney is certified, the “designated voter” takes the oath with the election officials who attest to the appointment.

In an agreed statement of fact that served as the basis for Snively’s guilty plea, both the Crown and the defense agreed that Snively obtained those votes by having the voter sign the form before an attorney-in-fact was appointed.

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The case also found that the proxies swore before an electoral clerk that they had been instructed by the elector for whom they were voting, despite having received no instructions on how to vote. Court documents show that, in several cases, voters said they did not know the people who cast their votes.

“At the time I made these powers, I thought I had done them correctly, it was an oversight on my part,” Snively told the court on Friday.

“I really didn’t realize that I was doing something wrong at the time. After the fact I realized that I did and I sincerely apologize for that. “

Court documents show the issue came to light after a local woman went to the polls on October 22, 2018 and tried to vote, only to be told that she had already voted. Election officials and the police were notified.

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The agreed statement of fact includes 34 cases in which people voted for others by proxy when they had no right to do so. In some cases, there was a language barrier or the individuals were elderly; They did not have their power of attorney or were suffering from dementia when they signed a power of attorney form at Snively’s request.

Those were some of the aggravating factors that regional Crown attorney Brian White said required a large fine. Mitigating factors, the court heard, included Snively’s voluntary guilty plea, saving the court time from a months-long anticipated trial with dozens of witnesses, and the stigma and impact on Snively’s political career.

“The Crown is seeking a substantial fine to send the message that the Municipal Elections Law is an act that must be respected, it is an act that must be trusted, and it is an act to help and affirm fair and open elections within our province and municipality ”. said the target.

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Snively’s attorney, Patrick Ducharme, said that, given his client’s financial circumstances, a substantial fine would be in the range of $ 7,000 to $ 8,000. He also spoke about Snively’s 12-year career in municipal politics and the margin of victory in the 2018 election.

Snively won mayoralty by 117 votes and “probably” would have won regardless of proxy votes, Ducharme said.

With a maximum fine of $ 25,000 under the Municipal Elections Act, Hoffman chose a figure between what the defense had suggested and the $ 15,000 the Crown was seeking. Snively has six months to pay his $ 10,000 fine.

Earlier this year, the city passed stricter proxy voting measures that it said address issuing and certifying applications for proxy voting.

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