A voter in Chatham-Kent-Leamington claims their signature was falsely used to nominate the Liberal candidate in the riding.
Audrey Festeryga became the Liberal candidate in the riding on May 12, after the party booted Alec Mazurek when homophobic slurs he posted on social media in 2014 when he was a teenager surfaced.
Candidates must submit 25 signatures of electors living within the riding supporting their nomination. However, the NDP alleges the Liberals submitted the original names, addresses, and signatures collected by Mazurek and attached them to the nomination papers for Festeryga on May 12, 2022 just hours before nominations were closed.
Mike Brown, a Chatham resident, sent an e-mail statement to CK News Today:
Earlier this month, a young man named Alec Mazurek came to my house in Chatham. He told me he was the Liberal candidate in the upcoming election and needed signatures to get his name on the ballot. I signed the forms, as I wanted to support a young person being involved in politics. These are the only forms I have signed for the provincial election.
I have not met nor heard of Audrey Festergya until I learned that my signature is on her forms. Nobody asked me to sign forms for Ms. Festergya.
The Ontario New Democrats claim the signatures on the forms are dated May 11, 2022, a day before the Liberals tried to nominate Festeryga and at least one document was dated May 8, 2022, which was before Mazurek's social media posts had been made public.
"The NDP has reviewed the registration information on the nomination papers filed by the Liberals in Chatham-Kent-Leamington. The documentation includes signatures for the previous candidate for the Liberals, Alec Mazurek, and not for Audrey Festeryga. Elections Ontario states clearly on the form that these signatures and addresses must be for the specified candidate," said the party.
"Steven Del Duca must be accountable for how he and the Liberals approved the use of apparently false or improper documentation to support Festeryga’s candidacy, apparently misleading Elections Ontario," the NDP said in a statement on Wednesday. "Elections Ontario must immediately investigate the Liberal candidate’s compliance with election law, and if proven, must disqualify the Liberal candidate in the riding and ensure all voters are informed of the improper registration."
The party is asking for Festeryga to be disqualified from the race, and wants Festeryga prosecuted for submitting false or misleading information to a Returning Officer.
Del Duca addressed the issue in a media scrum in London on Wednesday evening.
"I think it's deeply disappointing that Ontario's NDP are now engaging in desperate tactics like this," he said. "Elections Ontario is responsible for elections and candidate nomination processes, they will do their work."
When Del Duca was asked if fraudulent signatures were used to sign-up Festeryga, he once again deferred to Elections Ontario.
"We're going to let Elections Ontario do what they're supposed to do," Del Duca said.
Earlier in the day in Toronto, Ontario Liberal Party Press Secretary Andrea Ernesaks said "we are confident the nomination of our candidate Audrey Festeryga is perfectly valid."
Elections Ontario said it does not comment on whether or not it has received a complaint or whether or not it is investigating a matter.
You can read more about the candidates who have registered for the Chatham-Kent-Leamington riding by clicking here.