THUNDER BAY — Tbaytel has taken corrective action after finding some instances of fraudulent voting in its Tbaytel For Good Community Fund initiative.
This year, the project will provide three grants of $10,000 each to deserving community initiatives in the company's service area in Northern Ontario.
The public can participate by voting online, choosing from among 12 semi-finalists that were selected by a panel of judges.
Tbaytel says it recently discovered that some votes had been cast fraudulently, and that all 12 entries were affected to varying degrees.
"Our security protections and measures identified anomalies in our voting tallies. We have added further measures and are constantly validating the data to ensure transparency for a fair and equitable result," it said in a posted message.
All votes cast fraudulently have now been removed, and the totals have been adjusted for each entry accordingly.
In an interview Monday, Tbaytel communication coordinator Jamie Smith said no voting anomalies have been detected since security was enhanced, and the company believes the matter has been resolved.
"No one's more disappointed and frustrated than us. We work really hard to establish this fund, and at the end of the day it's really about raising awareness and getting some amazing ideas out there from some of the great people who are doing amazing things," Smith said.
"It's unfortunate that it happened, but we're confident we are still going to see 'the good' part of the Tbaytel for Good Community Fund come through on Oct. 26," when the winners are announced, he said.
The fund was established in 2013.
It has distributed more than $270,000 to 93 projects in 22 communities across the north.
Voting continues until Tuesday at 4 p.m.
