(01 of10)
Open Image ModalIt has been just over a year since the last federal election, one that has become known almost as much for allegations of electoral fraud in Guelph, Ont., as for the way it redrew the House of Commons.
\n\nInvestigators are now looking into calls wrongly claiming to be from Elections Canada that redirected voters to a polling station they couldn\'t use. It\'s illegal both to interfere with a person\'s right to vote and to impersonate Elections Canada.
\n\nA year later, here\'s what we do know, according to court documents and information provided in interviews:
\n\nWith files from CBC.
\n(CP) (credit:CP)
1. Probe Started Early(02 of10)
Open Image ModalElections Canada investigator Al Mathews started looking into complaints in Guelph on May 5, 2011, three days after the election that saw reports of illicit phone calls. The winning candidate in the riding, Liberal Frank Valeriote, compiled a list of almost 80 names of people complaining about the calls. News of the investigation didn\'t break until Feb. 22, 2012. (Thinkstock) (credit:Thinkstock)
2. RackNine(03 of10)
Open Image ModalAll political parties use automated robocalls and live calls to identify voter support and contact people during a campaign. The campaign of Guelph Conservative candidate Marty Burke used RackNine, a company that offers voice broadcasting services, to make legitimate robocalls to campaign supporters. The person who made the fraudulent robocalls also used RackNine. (Alamy) (credit:Alamy)
3. Pierre Poutine(04 of10)
Open Image ModalThe person who made the calls used a disposable, or burner, cellphone, registered to a \"Pierre Poutine.\" The RackNine charges were paid via PayPal using prepaid credit cards, purchased at two Shoppers Drug Mart stores in Guelph. Shoppers Drug Mart doesn\'t keep its security camera videos long enough to see who bought the cards more than a year ago. (Alamy) (credit:Alamy)
4. IP Traced(05 of10)
Open Image ModalElections Canada traced the IP address used to access RackNine on election day and send the fraudulent message. Mathews got a court order for Rogers, the company that provided the internet service to that IP address, to provide the customer information that matches that address, on March 20, 2012. (Alamy) (credit:Alamy)
5. Andrew Prescott Linked To Poutine IP(06 of10)
Open Image ModalPierre Poutine and Burke campaign worker Andrew Prescott (pictured here with Tony Clement) accessed their RackNine accounts using the same IP address. On election day, they accessed their RackNine accounts from the same IP address within four minutes of each other, Mathews says in documents filed in court.
6. But Accounts Don't Match(07 of10)
Open Image ModalA court document lists the billing account numbers for the customer information provided by Rogers to Mathews. Those accounts don\'t match the number found on the Burke campaign\'s Rogers invoices submitted to Elections Canada, suggesting RackNine wasn\'t accessed through a computer in the Burke campaign office.
7. Misleading Calls Discussed?(08 of10)
Open Image ModalTwo Conservative staffers, accompanied by the party\'s lawyer, told Mathews they overheard Michael Sona (pictured here with Stephen Harper), another Burke campaign worker, talking about \"making a misleading poll moving call.\" Sona, who stepped down from a job in the office of Conservative MP Eve Adams when the story broke, has previously said he had nothing to do with the misleading calls.
8. Poutine Used Tory Database?(09 of10)
Open Image ModalArthur Hamilton, the Conservative Party\'s lawyer, told Mathews the list of phone numbers uploaded to RackNine by Pierre Poutine appeared to be a list of identified non-Conservative supporters, with data on it that was updated in CIMS, the party\'s database, days before the election. The CBC\'s Terry Milewski had reported a similar pattern after sifting through complaints in 31 ridings. (credit:CP)
9. Deluge Of Complaints(10 of10)
Open Image ModalNews coverage led to 40,000 people contacting Elections Canada one way or another -- whether to report a misdirecting call or by signing an online petition to express concern that it had happened -- chief electoral officer Marc Mayrand told a parliamentary committee in April. There are now specific allegations in almost 200 ridings by 800 people. (credit:CP)