Élections Québec to mail voter information in French only for 1st time in a provincial election

For the first time in a general election, Élections Québec will send voters information documents in French only in order to comply with changes to Quebec’s language laws, the agency said in a news release on Tuesday.

Although the documents typically mailed by Élections Québec ahead of voting day will be in French only, they will contain a QR code leading to the agency’s English website for voters wishing to access the information in English.

Legislation to protect French and make it the sole language of communication for public institutions became law in 2022.

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Group urging Élections Québec to reconsider

Eva Ludvig, the president of TALQ, a coalition of English-speaking groups TALQ, says needing to use a QR code to access information about the voting process is, for many, a “disincentive to vote.” She says her organization has written to Élections Québec and asked it to reverse this decision.

When asked about Élections Québec’s plan to run targeted ads for English speakers, Ludvig said “it’s not enough.” “All Quebecers need to be treated in the same fashion,” she said. She expects a lot of people reach out to her organization, expressing anger and disappointment.

“Those are the things that we hear when people feel they don’t have the kind of service and entitlement from Quebec institutions that they should be getting,” she said. “Elections are fundamental in democracy.”