Untraceable Donations: The Risks of Cryptocurrency in BC Provincial Elections
Elections BC, the independent office responsible for overseeing provincial elections in British Columbia, has been allowing parties and candidates to legally accept cryptocurrency donations as far back as 2014. This decision is based on the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act (LECFA), which is administered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.
Donations require individuals to submit their full name and residential address, and they must be a resident of BC, and either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Donors are responsible to ensure they are in compliance with the LECFA and cannot exceed the contribution limit. If parties or candidates have any suspicion of donations they must remit it to Elections BC as a prohibited contribution.
While this may seem like a step forward for modernizing the donation process, the nature of cryptocurrency makes it theoretically impossible to truly verify the source of the sender.
From a reporting perspective, cryptocurrency donations are considered in-kind donations by Elections BC. Whether or not a donation was made in cryptocurrency is not specified, as this is not a reporting requirement of the LECFA.
Therefore, it is not possible for the general public to see exactly how much or many crypto donations were made to a party or candidate, rather the public can only view in-kind donations as a whole.
Cryptocurrency transactions are decentralized and anonymous, which means that it is not possible to trace the identity of the source of the funds. This anonymity has made cryptocurrency a popular method of payment for illegal activities such as money laundering and purchasing illicit goods.
Allowing cryptocurrency donations to political campaigns may make it easier for people to anonymously donate, potentially leading to a lack of transparency and accountability in political processes across British Columbia.
Would this lack of transparency potentially compromise the integrity of local elections, especially in the face of growing concerns about foreign interference in democratic processes?
