More candidates being added to Malpeque special ballots after voters noticed only 1 name

Elections Canada says voters in P.E.I.'s federal riding of Malpeque will start seeing more names on the special ballot beginning today.

Special ballot voting allows Canadians to cast their vote at any Elections Canada office before advance polls or election day. The ballot includes a blank space where voters must write the name of their chosen candidate.

For this federal election, voters can cast a special ballot at an Elections Canada office anytime before 6 p.m. on April 22. When voting this way, people can ask an election worker for a list of confirmed candidates in their riding.

However, some voters in the Malpeque riding have recently raised concerns after seeing only the name of Conservative candidate Jamie Fox in that list of confirmed candidates, along with a blank space to write in other names.

Other candidates running in this riding include Anna Keenan (Green Party), Cassie MacKay (New Democratic Party), Heath MacDonald (Liberal Party) and Hilda Baughan (People's Party of Canada).

Françoise Enguehard, media representative for Elections Canada in the Atlantic Region, said that's because Fox completed the confirmation process earlier than other candidates.

She added that after candidates submit their names, they need to go through an official confirmation process before appearing on the list.

"Candidates are put as they appear... so it's only because he was quicker off the mark and got confirmed quicker than the others, but I can tell you now there are five candidates already," Enguehard told CBC News.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, the official Elections Canada website was listing five confirmed candidates for the Malpeque riding. That's also the deadline for nominations to close.

"So if people go vote by special ballot today in Malpeque, the five names will be available to them," Enguehard said.

Misconception about special ballots

Voting by special ballot is different from voting on election day or at advance polls.

When you vote by special ballot, your ballot won't show a list of candidates to choose from. Instead, there is a blank space on the ballot for you to write the name of the candidate you're voting for.

Enguehard said there is a common misconception that a vote won't count if a name is misspelled.

But it is based on intent, so minor errors could be accepted, she said.

"A lot of people are worried that if the name is not perfectly spelled, it's going to be a spoilt ballot. That is not quite true," she said. "You would have to really spell it wrong from the beginning to the end and make it incomprehensible."