Essex proxies say they haven't done anything wrong amidst election fraud investigation

Residents of the Town of Essex who acted as proxies during the recent election are saying they haven't done anything wrong.

• More concerns raised after Town of Essex proxy papers found with mistakes

• OPP investigating concerns of voter fraud after proxies signed without consent

That's following complaints of proxy ballots being signed without the consent of the elector during the past election. The Ontario Provincial Police are investigating allegations of election fraud.

CBC News spoke with Marvin Shepley, one of the 94 proxies on the Town of Essex list.

Shepley said he does not remember whose proxy he signed because it was so long ago, the proxy is dated on August 27, 2018.

Shepley said he did not have a conversation with the individual before being his proxy.

"There ain't nothing wrong with it, these proxies," he said.

Shepley said the proxy with a name was brought to him in which he signed.

He said people are "making a big deal out of nothing" and there is nothing wrong with the proxy system.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing voters guide, "you must know who you want to appoint as your proxy when you fill out and sign the form.

According to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing voters guide, "you must know who you want to appoint as your proxy when you fill out and sign the form."

"The person you want to appoint must be eligible to vote in the election; and should be someone you trust to mark the ballot in the way you have instructed them to."

CBC News examined all 94 proxies, 85 of which are located in Ward 3 and 4, which is the Harrow area. Out of those 94 proxies, 31 of the papers had visible problems.

The proxies were signed off by the town clerk.

These are the Town of Essex numbers compared to other municipalities in the province.

The amount of votes cast was divided by the number of proxies submitted to get these percentages.

CBC News has reached out to the Town of Essex for comment but a spokesperson for the town said staff will not comment on the matter as it is an ongoing police investigation.