'I find it questionable:' Windsor voter puzzled about police presence at advance polls

When Laura Pratt went to vote last week at the advance poll set up at All Saints Church, she saw something that she had never seen before: two Windsor police officers.

"I was surprised to see it and a little off-put," she said. "Elections in Canada are free and fair."

As Pratt entered the voting area inside the church, two uniformed police officers were the first people she saw. They had laptops in front of them, she said,and were talking to each other.

The City of Windsor says police officers have been stationed at advance polling stations in previous elections. They were there "to ensure the safety and security of all people, the electoral process and elections equipment and supplies," Terri Knight-Lepain, manager of records and elections, told CBC News in an email.

Knight-Lepainwouldn't comment on whether there were any threats made this year.

Knight-Lepainsaid "drive-thru voting was offered at five of the eight advance voting days, so the police were also present for traffic calming and control."

The Windsor Police Service said that it "isn't aware of any incidents or threats that would make attending a polling station unsafe." A spokesperson said the city would be best positioned to comment on why a police presence was requested.

Pratt says it's been a week since she'svoted at All Saints Church and she is "baffled" as to why police were necessary.

"I haven't yet come up with anything that I can think of that would have necessitated that," she said.

Pratt said she spoke with other voters who experienced similar instances of uniformed police officers at advance polling stations, including locations where drive-thru voting was available.

Experience behind the scenes

Having been a scrutineer for previous elections at the federal and provincial levels, Pratt isn't aware of any incidents of tampering.

"At the final count at the end of the night, there's no police officers; there's no tampering," she said. "I don't know of any instance that has occurred that would have triggered that kind of a thought process."

"I find it questionable."

Pratt said that first-time voters, especially naturalized Canadian citizens who are voting for the first time, might get the wrong impression if they see police officers at a polling station.

"If you were a first-time voter, you might feel intimidated," she said. "If you were a newcomer to Canada voting for the first time, how would that make you feel? Newcomers that we welcome here come from places where free voting isn't a reality. I [also] wonder about a young person voting for the first time. They may feel that it's a usual and routine situation."

"It's not."

Potential reasons for deploying officers

One political expert agrees with Pratt's point and has another potential reason voters may feel disenfranchised.

"There may be voters from communities who feel they have not had the best relations or interactions with policing," said Myer Siemiatycki, professor emeritus of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. "They might be put off by being in an area where police are so highly visible."

Another political expert hypothesized another reason police were placed at the voting stations.

"It could be that people have lost trust of our electorate to behave themselves at a polling station," said Lydia Miljan, professor of political science at the University of Windsor. "Tempers are higher these days and people have less patience, so there might have been some concern about threats of people protesting."

Siemiatycki said municipalities could have hired security guards instead of posting uniformed police officers at voting locations.

"Municipalities should be hiring security guards," he said. "They have a much more neutral and lower-key profile standing in an enclosed space rather than a police officer."

Plans for election day

Advance voting is over in Windsor and election day is on Oct. 24.

Knight-Lepain confirmed that uniformed police officers would not be present at polling stations on Monday.

Pratt finds this decision confusing.

"Why would it be important for advance polls but not election day?" she asked. "If they're protecting their workers and their equipment, I would think that applies to each day that there's voting going on."