Superstitious Jays fans blamed their election curse fears on Tom Mulcair, Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau who made appearances during the final stretch of the regular season that resulted in coincidental loses. Tom Mulcair tweeted some closure on Sept 4th:
“Don't worry, fellow #BlueJays fans. @JustinTrudeau, @pmharper and I have a busy September and October lined up. #ComeTogether —TM”
But after Bautista's three-run homer won the wild game 5 of the AL Division Series with a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, the Jays now find themselves on a high as they battle the ALCS (American League Championship Series), which begins today (ahem, right now!) against Kansas City. With another series of games booked over the next few days, the Jays are unintentionally getting their revenge on Monday, Oct 19th – election day – as they host the Kansas City Royals in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series giving politicians some tough competition.
Playing at home also means that the Rogers Centre will be bursting with ~50,000 people in the stands rather than lining up to vote and millions more will be watching the baseball game on a television somewhere far away from the polls. Because the first pitch is at 8:07pm and because polls close 9:30pm, Elections Canada officially views this as a “regional voting issue” since the overlap leaves little time for Jays fans to vote.
According to this article, past elections haven't been delayed by natural disasters (such as the Manitoba floods in 1997) and the Constitution is silent on conflicts between elections and sporting events. So, while it’s hard for Major League Baseball to plan for every eventuality of a playoff schedule, you yourself have a tad more control over your own schedule so I thought I’d provide you with some upcoming important dates to mark in your calendar:
October 22, 2015 at 10am – The only 2015 Postseason date listed on the Jays’ Important Dates page (it’s the date and time that World Series Tickets go on sale).
December 1 – My birthday
December 24, 2015 – The last day for Canadian and US tax loss selling
December 31, 2015 – The last day for RESP contributions and 2015 charitable contributions
February 29, 2016 – The last day for 2015 RRSP contributions