Élections Québec to study impact of French-only information on voter turnout following ‘significant’ complaints

“We only have anecdotal evidence,” said TALQ Director General Sylvia Martin-Laforge, as Élections Québec launches a survey into whether French-only information affected voters.

Élections Québec says it received a significant number complaints about language during the election. Now, it wants to know whether French-only information affected some Quebecers’ decision to vote.

The elections authority told CityNews it’s too early to assess the impact. It declined a request for an interview, sending a statement instead.

The agency also said it’s now adding questions to its post-election surveys to determine whether French-only information affected voters’ ability to stay informed, and whether some people abstained from voting because of it.

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Sylvia Martin-Laforge of the group Talking Advocating Living in Quebec (TALQ) says while her own voting experience was positive, she looks forward to seeing the results of Élections Québec’s survey.

“It’ll give even more information about what really happened,” said Martin-Laforge, the group’s director general. “I think everybody will tell you right now that we only have anecdotal evidence.”