Judge adjourns an application by the city's election officer to disallow non-Latin characters.
Judge adjourns an application by the city's election officer to disallow non-Latin charactersA voter casts their ballot in the 2014 municipal election at an advance polling station. In that election, only one candidate was allowed to use non-Latin characters on the ballot.
Judge James Wingham ruled it would be "unfair'' to proceed with the application under the strict timeline set out in the Vancouver Charter and adjourned the hearing to a later date, sometime after the municipal elections. It said all of the respondents submitted their "usual name" to be used on the ballot papers in both Latin characters and either Chinese or Persian.
The case pitted candidates arguing that non-Latin character names are essential for connecting with voters against allegations of cultural appropriation. Vision Vancouver said in a statement prior to the ruling that Wong and council candidate Honieh Barzegari were dismayed by the possibility that their "unique and usual names" printed in non-Latin characters would be removed from ballot papers.
"This case is going to continue and go forward, and I believe that we do need a resolution to this, particularly for the next election," she said.