Veiled women can vote in Quebec election

MONTREAL, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Elections Canada has ruled that veiled Muslim women can vote in three by-elections in Quebec this month without showing their faces.

They must be able to present at least two pieces of identification, one with a photograph, to vote in the Sept. 17 election, The Montreal Gazette reported. Those without identification must be accompanied by a voter willing to vouch for them.

Marcel Blanchet, the province’s chief electoral officer, last March reversed an earlier decision on veiled women, saying that they could not vote. He said allowing those who did not show their faces to vote would turn elections into “a masquerade.”