Former Elections Worker Fined $1,250 for Voting Twice in 2019 Federal Election

Voters head to cast their ballots at the Fairbanks Interpretation Centre in Dartmouth, N.S., during Canada's federal election on Oct. 21, 2019. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

The Commissioner of Canada Elections has handed down multiple fines for electoral violations, including to a Montreal man who voted twice in 2019.

Commissioner Caroline Simard announced the administrative monetary penalties on Aug. 6 and published summaries of the notices of violation.

The body that enforces the Canada Elections Act said that David Gilchrist voted twice in two different electoral districts in Montreal. He was fined $1,250.

Gilchrist first voted by special ballot in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount riding on Sept. 23, 2019, and then at the polling station of the Saint-Laurent riding for early voting on Oct. 11, 2019. He was accompanying his father at that time and used his father’s voter information card to cast a ballot.

The commissioner said Gilchrist admitted the next day to Elections Canada officials he had voted twice, “with the intention to test the electoral system.”

“The fact he admitted to voting twice demonstrates a clear degree of intention, which is an aggravating factor,” said the commissioner’s notice of violation.

The enforcement body noted that Gilchrist had previous experience working as an election official for several federal, provincial, and municipal elections. Aside from domestic work, Gilchrist also served as a regional liaison officer during the Ukrainian presidential elections in 2004 and 2014 and was an international elections observer in Haiti in 2006.

“David Gilchrist has an above than average knowledge of the electoral process,” says the notice of violation.

The 2019 federal election was held on Oct. 21, 2019, with the Liberals winning a minority government with 157 seats. The two ridings Gilchrist voted in were taken by Liberals in landslides.

The Commissioner of Canada Elections also announced a fine for a non-citizen who attempted to vote in the 2021 election.

Qinan Feng was fined $1,250, with the commissioner considering his attempt to cover up the offence as an aggravating factor.

Feng told Elections Canada someone had ordered a special ballot in his stead. However, investigators linked the request back to him through an uploaded proof of identification to obtain the ballot and by the IP address linked to his residence.

The Epoch Times unsuccessfully attempted to locate Gilchrist and Feng for comment.

The fines were issued amid heightened concerns about election integrity ahead of the 2025 federal election. Commissioner Simard told the Foreign Interference Inquiry this spring she is currently investigating allegations of Beijing meddling in the 2019 election.