Now is not the time for online voting, say city staff, which raises a variety of potential concerns with the election method in a report heading to city council next month, including the potential influence of “malicious actors.”
Instead, council is being asked to approve vote-by-mail and vote-from-home as accessible alternatives to traditional paper ballots for the 2026 municipal election.
The city’s accessibility advisory committee (AAC), however, is championing a return to online voting. It passed a motion to that effect in December, followed by a motion earlier this month stressing it does not support the staff recommendations.
Council is set to weigh in on the matter during its committee of the whole meeting on May 7. In order for any decision made that day to be finalized, it would need to be ratified during a formal council session, likely on May 28.
“Staff acknowledge (online voting) is the most accessible option and is the alternative voting method most preferred based on public engagement feedback,” the report reads, before listing a variety of concerns with the process that lead to it not being recommended.
Among them is the potential for online voting systems to be manipulated.
“While there are no proven instances of an internet voting system being hacked or tampered with, municipalities are increasingly targets for malicious actors looking to hold information for ransom,” the report states. “If staff (is) directed to offer this method, technical security testing including penetration testing leading up to threat risk assessment may be required.”
Other concerns expressed in the report include a “higher risk of service interruptions” that could impact the electoral process and/or its integrity, as well as limited ability to verify voter eligibility, in addition to audit and recount processes.
Additionally, while some municipalities have adopted online voting, upper levels of government have not, the report notes.
The AAC doesn’t support city staff’s recommended alternative voting methods.
“We believe that this leaves insurmountable barriers to accessibility and denies many members of the community access to a confidential, independent, and verifiable voting method. Failure to provide a voting method to disabled individuals serves to disenfranchise a vulnerable population,” reads its April 16 motion, which goes on to urge council to move forward with online voting and a remote accessible vote-from-home option.
City council approved the use of online voting during advanced polling days for the 2014 election but nixed the idea ahead of the 2018 and 2022 contests, with privacy concerns cited as the main reason.
City staff consider the vote-from-home option, which was provided as a pilot project in 2022, to be a low risk election method.
“Feedback from the previous 2022 pilot indicated that this option supports voters with disabilities and offers added barrier reduction for people with limited transportation and no access to online services that could impact access to voting.
Similarly, the vote by mail method is considered a low risk. It was also offered during the 2022 election.
Also up for discussion during the May 7 committee of the whole meeting are staff recommendations to provide free Guelph Transit service on election day, as well as no-cost parking at Market Parade beside city hall.
The free parking recommendation is an expansion of what’s been done in the past – two free hours of parking in the downtown for voters to cast their ballot at city hall.
