On Monday October 21, 2019, shortly after 10:00am a representative of Elections Canada contacted the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service to report that a ballot had been stolen from a polling station in Lindsay.
A City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service constable attended the polling station where the incident occurred and interviewed witnesses. The officer determined that earlier in the morning a man attended the polling station and obtained his ballot to vote.
The man became involved in a dispute with Elections Canada staff about the process for submitting his vote into the ballot box, and left the building with his ballot.
The investigating officer found the man at his home, but after refusing to return the ballot the man was charged with the offence of “Take a ballot out of a polling station” contrary to the Canada Elections Act.
The man was issued an appearance notice for the offence and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, located at 440 Kent Street west in Lindsay on November 28, 2019.