Tamara Goeppel pleads not guilty to Yukon election charges

Tamara Goeppel, a Liberal candidate in last fall's Yukon election, has pleaded not guilty to three charges under the Yukon Elections Act.

• 2016 Yukon Liberal candidate Tamara Goeppel charged under Elections Act

Goeppel ran in the Whitehorse Centre riding where she lost to New Democrat incumbent Liz Hanson.

During the election campaign, a downtown resident told CBC he was asked by Goeppel to cast a proxy ballot for someone he did not know. He said Goeppel told him the person felt too "intimidated" to vote.

RCMPthen said they received correspondence during the election campaign from Yukon's Chief Electoral Officer regarding possible offences under the act. Police charged Goeppelin February.

She's charged with:

• Two counts ofaiding or abetting persons in making proxy applications that were not in accordance with Section 106 of the Act;
• One count ofinducing persons to falsely declare on proxy applications that they would be absent from the Yukon during the hours fixed for voting.

Richard Fowler, a Vancouver lawyer representing Goeppel, entered the not guilty pleas on her behalf in Yukon Territorial Court in Whitehorse on Friday afternoon. Goeppelwas not in the courtroom.

Fowler said he expects the trial could take up to five days. Thetrial date is tobe set at the end of the month.