On Saturday September 22, Fair Vote Canada-BC launched a Proportional Representation Fact Checker Site, on which two of Canada’s top electoral reform experts evaluate the claims made by both ProRep and Anti ProRep sides in B.C.’s electoral system referendum.

Dr. Denis Pilon of York University (author of The Politics of Voting and 25 years’ worth of related publications) and Dr. Brian Tanguay, the lead author of the Law Commission of Canada’s 2004 report “Voting Counts: Electoral Reform for Canada,” provide the technical expertise for the website.

Within hours of launching the site had slowed down and by Sunday it was failing to load at all.

“It has now been confirmed by our technical specialist that the Fact Check site was attacked by someone trying to shut us down by overwhelming the site with over 80,000 page requests,” said Fair Vote Canada’s Acting Executive Director Anita Nickerson.

She added, “the same thing happened on June 13, right after we sent out an email about the Fact Check site, when someone used two IP addresses to overwhelm our server with 500,000 requests. But our tech expert tells us that the attack this weekend was much more sophisticated.”

On Wednesday September 26, Nickerson had to again write to B.C. activists, saying, “Today the site is under attack again!! Unbelievable.”

Cranbrook ProRep activist Joyce Green wonders what the hackers don’t want B.C. voters to see. “This is simply an information tool for people … information that is the basis of an informed vote in our referendum,” she said.

Referendum ballots will be B.C. mailboxes in 27 days.

A ProRep Rally is planned for Cranbrook October 24 at 7 p.m. at the Ktunaxa Nation gymnasium.

e-KNOW

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