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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Soooo the Harper government has call 3 by-elections for the same day as the Federal election.... backdooring taxpayers once again

Courtesy of Skeena Sage Williamson:

So now we know why the Cons suddenly called by-elections for October 19, the same day as the general election will most likely be called.

Pundit's guide:
...
** But financially these by-elections will be different from those 2008 ones in one other very important way as well, because of amendments made in the so-called "Fair" Elections Act amendments which came into effect this past December. These were the changes made to the expense ceilings – which I mentioned before – such that the limits would increase proportionately with the length of a writ. Right now, the spending limit for each riding will be calculated based on the number of electors, times the inflation multiplier, but then augmented by 1/37th of that amount for every single day beyond 37 days. With today's by-election call, we're at 169 days until October 19, so that's a spending limit of four-and-a-half times (169/37) what it would have been before.

That's right: an expense ceiling of around $400,000 per candidate, all of which can be spent before the writ for the general election is issued, all rebated at 60%, and that's not counting the central party limits for the by-election ridings either. Say four candidates per riding, over three ridings, and you're looking at $6 million dollars in allowable, rebated candidate election expenses. And then, once the general election is called and the by-elections are cancelled, the meter resets all over again, making for a ceiling of up to half a million dollars per candidate if you could raise and spend it all. **

READ MORE: http://www.punditsguide.ca/2015/05/federal-by-elections-will-be-all-paperwork-no-voting-day-plus-huge-expense-ceilings/


Comment:

Michael McNeil The money end of things gets even wilder. Any unexpended funds from the by-elections (which began today) can be carried into the general election.

When a candidate raises $1,500 from a supporter, the treasury reimburses the supporter $650 (more if th
at amount is raised through smaller contributions) and when the candidate spends that $1,500, they are reimbursed $900. That totals $1,550 ... more than the contribution, itself.

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