MONTREAL — A lawyer is asking a judge to order Élections Québec to mail out voter information in both French and English, after the elections agency said earlier this month that it would be providing the documents in French only.

Lawyer Doug Mitchell told Quebec Superior Court that not giving people the information they need to cast a ballot could hurt their ability to exercise their fundamental right to vote.

Élections Québec said on Sept. 1 that printed voter cards will only be available in French for the first time in its history, in order to comply with new language legislation.

It said this year’s documents will include a QR code for voters to access information online in English instead.

Mitchell noted that Élections Québec repeatedly sought an exemption to the law in order to be allowed to send information in both languages, but was denied.

He says the QR code isn’t an appropriate substitute because many people can’t access them, including some seniors and people without cellphones or reliable internet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press