Six feet of separation: how to campaign under COVID

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This article was published 23/08/2021 (1475 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the Liberals’ top targets in the ongoing federal election sits in west Winnipeg, but you won’t find the campaign headquarters for former MP Doug Eyolfson anywhere.

A hidden address for the party’s Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley campaign is among the pandemic adjustments Winnipeg candidates are making. Eyolfson is vying to recapture the seat for the Liberals after he was defeated by Conservative Marty Morantz in 2019.

Parties have modified their door-knocking routine, are debating over whether to hold events and will be pushing voters to mail in their ballots or get to the polls early.

“We still are able to interact with the voters, but only in the safest manner possible,” said Paul Brault, Eyolfson’s campaign manager.

Candidates across Winnipeg have reported a distanced door-knocking procedure, where they place a pamphlet into a mailbox, knock on the door or ring the bell, and then immediately step back.

“Obviously, we want to talk to voters; we want to know what’s on their mind. But we want to do that in a way that doesn’t make people uncomfortable,” said Daniel Blaikie, the NDP incumbent for Elmwood-Transcona.

“There’s no one generally accepted answer, to all these questions.”

Last week, Elections Canada said it expects 2.3 to 5 million special votes to be cast by mail or a new drop-off option, based on how bad the fourth wave gets.

In past elections, only about 5,000 Canadians voted by mail in their own riding, plus 45,000 from another riding or abroad.

Elections Canada also says it’s still scoping out and signing leases for polling locations, which will include a higher than usual number of church basements, community centres and even hotel ballrooms.

That’s because some provinces like Manitoba have blocked the agency from setting up polling stations in schools, saying they’d rather preserve space to distance kids.

“Every election is unique in a number of ways, but this one might be a bit more unique than others,” Stéphane Perrault, Canada’s chief electoral officer, told reporters last week.

“Polling places are a controlled environment, where we can apply safety measures in a way that is rigorous and ensures the safety of everyone present.”

His agency will require voters to wear a mask, and provide one to those who lack one, unless they have a proof of medical reason not to, in line with provincial rules.

As always, voters will be able to mail in a special ballot, but will only have their vote counted if their riding’s returning office receives it on time (unlike some U.S. states, Canada does not peg this to when a ballot has been postmarked).

This year there will be drop-off voting, where electors can submit their special ballot, or have someone else do so, at a box inside their riding’s returning office.

Staff will gather ballots until polls close, at which point they will have to verify each special ballot envelope. That means checking the unique barcode, signature field and address to weed out any voter who had submitted both an in-person vote and a special ballot.

That barcode will also allow people to check online whether their ballot had been received.

It’s only after that verification that votes will be processed, which is why it’s quite likely Canadians will not learn who won the election on the evening of Sept. 20.

“In some districts, it could take as long as five days, depending on the volume and the distribution,” said Perrault.

However, electors will be able to see how many ballots have been counted and how many remain, as well as an interim result. And campaigns will be able to monitor the count, as usual.

“The prime minister decided to call an election in a pandemic, so it really puts 38 million Canadians in a very, very awkward position,” said Marty Morantz, the Conservative incumbent for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley.

At the doors, Morantz said it’s often hard to have a conversation while wearing masks, yet it remains the best way to make a connection with voters.

“They’ve been locked up during COVID for so long; they haven’t been really able to have much social interaction,” he said. “When I show up at the doors they’re actually kind of happy to see their politician there.”

His team is trying to inform voters of the various options, such as voting by mail, or in the four days of advanced polls.

Blaikie’s campaign office is requiring masks, proof of vaccination and taking down visitors’ numbers. They’re also co-ordinating a virtual phone bank, meaning volunteers are ringing voters from their own home.

“It makes for a very different feel; one of the joyous things about the campaign is how people come together and often bring food. We’re not allowing that in this campaign,” he said.

Eyolfson’s office has similar requirements, except volunteers working phones will sit two metres apart from each other without masks, in rooms that are separate from the campaign staff.

Those knocking on doors meet at an intersection, instead of the usual practice of gathering at the campaign office for coffee. The campaign isn’t knocking on doors at apartment buildings.

“We’re making sure we’re following common-sense protocols,” said Brault.

As of Friday, Blaikie and Morantz campaign staff had not planned any events, but are deliberating if they can safety gather outdoors without people feeling uncomfortable.

Eyolfson’s campaign is planning spaced-out events in parks, though a horde of masked Liberal supporters did crowd around Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Friday during his visit to the riding.

“It is important to follow public-health measures which is why we are wearing masks… we need to continue to be vigilant,” Trudeau said moments later, when asked whether his campaign was setting a bad example.

As for election day, Blaikie, Eyolfson and Morantz’s team are all sorting out their get-out-the-vote strategy. A key campaign tool is usually offering supporters free rides to the polls.

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This year, they might have a protocol such as making sure volunteer drivers are vaccinated and masked, and leaving their windows opened based on the weather.

Some campaigns might go around picking up sealed special ballots and dropping them off at the returning office.

Blaikie said that all depends on Canadians actually wanting to cast a ballot as kids go back to school and a fourth wave hits different provinces.

“It’s hard because you’re competing for people’s attention — which is one of the reasons why we really shouldn’t have had an election,” he said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca