Whenever there are leadership campaigns in a party, signing up members for support is very important. However, as the above article demonstrates, there are serious problems that can arise. However, the most serious problem for the party might not be the possibility of fraud, but the public message it conveys. To sign up people who actually support you is one thing, to sign up friends and family just because they are is another, but to sign up a cat...conveys the message that there is nobody left in the province who wants to support the party, and that is definitely in the party's best interests. Of course, so is having the party turn onto itself over this sort of triviality. Obviously, this is a win-win situation - if you are the editor in chief of a major newspaper.
The thing is, this wasn't the only incident. Kevin Falcon's team signed up an entire hockey team...without the team knowing it. Surprised? It doesn't end there. A family managed to be signed up by the Liberals without even knowing it. Nobody has claimed responsibility for this last one yet, but I'm sure someone will find out soon.
In addressing bogus memberships, it is imperative to also explore memberships for all the wrong reasons. Once again the BC Liberals have graced us: a restaurant owner supporting the Liberals recently began (then ended after realizing it was a mistake) a program to reward his employees with an iPad if they signed up 25 new members.
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