![Essex Mayor Larry Snively pleads guilty to Ontario Elections Act violation](https://i.cbc.ca/1.4931273.1582737384!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_620/larry-snively.jpg)
Essex Mayor Larry Snively pleads guilty to Ontario Elections Act violation
CBC
Essex Mayor Larry Snively has pleaded guilty over "procuring" ineligible voters to cast ballots during the Ontario town's October 2018 municipal election.
In his guilty plea during a court proceeding Friday afternoon, Snively admitted "he induced or procured persons to vote when they were not entitled to do so," contrary to the Municipal Elections Act, court documents show.
Snively was fined $10,000 plus applicable costs, and has 180 days to pay.
Snively won the 2018 mayoral race by 117 votes, with 2,261 ballots cast in his favour, according to the official results. Runner-up Ron Rogers, among four mayoral candidates, secured 2,144 votes.
However, days after the election, Essex OPP began investigation after the Town of Essex received two official complaints of proxy ballots being signed without the consent of the electors.
To get a proxy, a voter must fill out their information and only sign the form after their appointed proxy has filled out their information. There is also an oral oath taken before the proxy votes.
CBC News examined 94 of the proxies filed, and 31 of the forms were incorrectly filled, but still signed off by the clerk.
Issues included missing names, and not including signatures from the person electing someone to vote on their behalf.
During his appearance on Friday, Snively apologized for the proxies.
"At the time I did these proxies, I thought I'd done them properly," Snively said. "It was an oversight on my part."
"Yes, I'm guilty of not reading the proxy, I should have read the proxy," he said. "I sincerely apologize, and really didn't realize I was doing anything wrong at the time, but after the fact, I realized that I did."
In handing down the fine, Justice of the Peace Susan Hoffman said a monetary penalty was appropriate in Snively's case, due to the remorse demonstrated by Snively's guilty plea, as well as the impact the case could have on his political career.
"I can say, however, that in 23 years, I have never provided over a similar case," she said. "There is no real specific legal precedent that I might rely on to come to my decision."
Hoffman noted that the $10,000 fine takes into account Snively's "fairly modest financial means."