City council is being asked to approve Internet voting as an option for the duration of the next municipal election.
In 2014 Internet voting was used only during the 18-day advance polling period.
A staff report heading to City Council's April 3 meeting of the Committee of the Whole is recommending it be allowed for all voting in the 2018 municipal election as staff hopes to implement several measures to help modernize the voting process and gradually switch to 100 per cent electronic voting of various types.
That would include the introduction of electronic touch screen voting at advance polls in 2018.
The 2014 election saw a voter turnout of 43 per cent in Guelph, up 11 per cent from the previous election. A total of 33 per cent of those votes were cast via the Internet during the advance polling period.
The 2014 municipal election was the first where on-line voting of any kind was used.
Advantages of on-line voting include convenience, ease of counting, 24/7 voting window and the fact that people can vote from anywhere in the world, says the staff report, prepared by deputy city clerk Tina Agnello.
Electronic tabulators of hand written votes at polling stations used since 2006 will continue to be used but the city is also looking at introducing paperless voting at polling stations.
The report says the use of touch screens can be viewed as a transition towards further electronic voting and the possibility of a ranked ballot system in the future.
"An in-person and paperless method of voting as a complementary option during the advance voting period can serve as a natural transition to Internet voting and would support future elections should ranked balloting be introduced in future election cycles," the report reads.
Ranked balloting is a voting method that sees people rank all the candidates, not just choose the ones to receive their vote(s). It has been discussed as a possibility for future elections.
The city report says a phone survey of 800 voting-age residents showed that the public generally supports the use of Internet and in-person paperless methods of casting ballot.
It said 68 per cent of people would like to use an in-person paperless voting option. Sixty three per cent were in favour of on-line voting.
A bylaw permitting the changes would be needed. That bylaw would need to be passed by council before May 1 of this year in order for it to be used for the 2018 municipal election.
The city would have to send out request for proposals for the new equipment in April.
It estimates the cost to the city of implementing full Internet voting option as $75,000.
The cost of voting touch screens has not yet been determined.
