On July 20, 2015 the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Canadian government's suit to deny voting rights to Canadians who have lived abroad for more than 5 years. A Supreme Court case has been submitted to restore voting rights to all citizens, as this ruling is in opposition to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but in the mean time the election is happening without the voices of 1.4 million Canadian citizens residing abroad. The Special Ballot Project is a protest, and a rebuttal to supporters of the law who have said we don't have skin in the game, aren't really part of the country anymore, and shouldn't get a vote if we don't pay taxes.
Special ballots coming out of the printer in advance of the election!
Casting my protest vote in the Special Ballot Project-- for voting rights despite my 2737 days of residing in other countries, and for citizenship as a meaningful and permanent element of a democratic society.