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  "description": "Nate Erskine-Smith claims temporary residents, asylum seekers, and even a visitor voted in weekend contest, calls for Elections Ontario to take over party processes",
  "path": "/ontario-liberal-candidate-files-appeal-after-alleging-organized-voter-fraud-in-nomination-battle/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-12T19:39:18.000Z",
  "site": "https://provincialtimes.ca",
  "tags": [
    "dismissed Erskine–Smith's allegations as “unsubstantiated”",
    "small donation.",
    "Read our Content Policy here."
  ],
  "textContent": "Ontario Liberal leadership hopeful Nate Erskine–Smith has filed a formal notice of appeal over this past weekend's Scarborough Southwest nomination meeting, releasing a _blistering_ email to supporters a**lleging widespread irregularities, vote buying, and a _complete breakdown_ of democratic controls inside the party.**\n\nThe email points the finger directly at the campaign of rival candidate Ahsanul Hafiz, claiming an _“organized effort”_ to direct, monitor, and pressure voters from the moment they entered the polling station until after they cast their ballots.\n\n_“We saw many, many cases of people hanging around watchfully in the voting area, telling voters explicitly what they should do,”_ Erskine–Smith wrote. _“Multiple people took calls on speakerphone or video so they could get instructions in the voting booth, while marking their ballots.”_\n\n## Subscribe for issues and perspectives that mainstream outlets often ignore\n\nWe bring insights, analysis, and news that challenge the status quo.\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nPerhaps most damning, the email alleges _“countless cases”_ of individuals photographing their ballots—a practice party officials acknowledged they had seen throughout the day. _“In most of the world,”_ Erskine–Smith noted, _“this would be considered clear evidence of vote buying.”_\n\nBut the allegations don't stop there. The Toronto-area MP and candidate says the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) _broke its own ID rules_ , **accepting refugee claimant documents, unsigned apartment leases** (including two that listed voters _under 18_), **digital report cards, Amazon orders, and in at least one case, a visitor's visa and foreign passport.**\n\n_“Among the large number of temporary residents who voted, many could not initially state their address when asked,”_ he wrote.\n\nBy the final two hours of voting, Erskine–Smith claims the party had _“lost control of the voting process nearly entirely.”_ His team witnessed voters returning to the credentials line after already casting ballots, people lingering in restricted areas, and entrants coming through the exit door.\n\nThe email also highlights that _hundreds_ of Ontario Liberal voters and citizens were struck from the list before the vote, while Mr. Hafiz's campaign manager—Ted Lojko, the same operative behind Han Dong's 2019 nomination—worked with _“other party establishment”_ to get out hundreds of temporary residents to _“save the party.”_\n\nIronically, Erskine–Smith says he does _not_ want the nomination for himself. Instead, he is demanding a full investigation, **a new nomination meeting or an appointed candidate,** and sweeping reforms—including limiting voter eligibility to _citizens and permanent residents_.\n\n_“With the party unable to enforce basic rules central to the democratic process, such as ballot secrecy, and with 34 extra unexplained ballots, we need Elections Ontario to be tasked with managing nomination processes,”_ he wrote. _“We deserve truth and accountability.”_\n\nInterim Liberal leader John Fraser dismissed Erskine–Smith's allegations as “unsubstantiated” and defended the nomination process. Whether Elections Ontario will step in remains an open question, but Erskine-Smith is betting that his team's evidence is too detailed to ignore.\n\n_“The party needs saving all right,”_ Erskine–Smith concluded. _“And to start, it needs to get to the bottom of what took place.”_\n\n## Tired of seeing important stories swept under the rug by the right-wing establishment media?\n\nSubscribe and get the full picture. Stay updated, stay informed, and join a community that values truth and transparency. Subscribe to The Provincial Times for free to receive new stories and support our work!\n\nSubscribe\n\nEmail sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.\n\nDid you like this article? Consider a small donation.\n\n* * *\n\n_This article was written based on a subscriber newsletter to which the editor is subscribed. The Provincial Times has not independently verified all claims contained therein._ Read our Content Policy here.",
  "title": "Ontario Liberal candidate files appeal after alleging ‘organized’ voter fraud in nomination battle",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-12T19:39:20.265Z"
}