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“We take all allegations of this nature extremely seriously. Protecting the integrity of the voting process is our priority.”

Mubarak Ahmed, the Liberal candidate in the hotly contested riding, wrote to Elections Canada Saturday after he said his campaign office was contacted by several voters who cast a ballot at the Teston Village Public School. “According to multiple eyewitness accounts, an employee of Elections Canada was actively and overtly encouraging voters to support the Conservative candidate. Alarmingly, this was done not only in English but particularly and persistently in Urdu, targeting a specific linguistic and cultural community within our riding,” his letter said.

Ahmed’s communications director Blawal Aleem told the Star they were particularly concerned the poll worker seemed to be targeting senior citizens “who may be more vulnerable to outside influence.”

“This ongoing situation raises serious questions about the integrity and impartiality of the electoral process in this riding. We believe it is vital that this issue receives immediate attention and accountability to ensure a fair and transparent election,” he said.

King—Vaughan is currently held by Conservative Anna Roberts, who is seeking a second term. The Liberals’ Deb Schulte held the seat in 2015 and 2019. The last three contests have been squeakers, with about two percentage points separating the winner from the loser. Roberts won by 1,076 votes in 2021, Schulte won by 1,141 votes in 2019, and 1,738 in 2015. Aleem said the tight contest is one more reason why the incident is alarming. “It’s very distressful because you want to ensure that, whatever the outcome is, it’s a fair one.”

Roberts’ campaign said Monday it was not aware of any voting problems.

“We are unaware of any issues at this or any other voting station other than they were all busy,” said Elmer Reyes, deputy campaign manager.

The Conservative party’s head office pointed Monday to another incident, this one allegedly involving a polling worker campaigning for the Liberals.

In Milton East—Halton Hills South — thought to be another tight two-way race between the Liberals and the Conservatives — the local Conservative campaign wrote to Elections Canada saying it had received complaints about a supervisor at the Hillsview Active Living Centre “using partisan Liberal slogans such as ‘Elbows Up.’ ”

 The party shared correspondence Elections Canada asking for the individual to be removed. The local campaign accused the poll worker of “campaigning for the Liberal Party of Canada awhile handing out ballots.” They also expressed concern that the person was storing ballot boxes from the advance polls at his residence.

 On Monday, Benson told the Star that Elections Canada is aware of that situation too.

 “We always take allegations of partisanship seriously,” she said. “When allegations are raised, we looked into them. Measures have been put in place by the Returning Officer to ensure election workers continue to remain non-partisan.”

The ballot boxes would be stored at the local Elections Canada office at the close of polls Monday, she said.

 Both incidents have been referred to the to Commissioner of Canada Elections, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Canada Elections Act and investigating potential contraventions.

 Any electors with concerns should not hesitate to contact Elections Canada or the commissioner’s office, Benson added.