CENTRE WELLINGTON – Centre Wellington council is considering including internet/telephone and mail-in voting for the 2022 municipal election.
A report to the committee of the whole presents two options for alternative voting methods in the next municipal and school board election.
Option one recommends internet/telephone voting while option two recommends vote by mail.
The report says both methods have been used in previous Centre Wellington elections.
In 2018, internet/telephone voting was used for the first time. With this method, voter help centres were used to add citizens to the voter’s list and were given a PIN to access the system.
The report notes there was a learning curve for staff and residents but the method “worked well and seemed to be well received.”
In the event this method is used in 2022, staff have recommended more voter help centres to avoid long line-ups, investigate a bar code reader, use more touch screen and accessible devices and to publish a fact sheet of common errors among other recommendations.
The mail-in system was used in the 2014 election and is noted in the report as a convenient and accessible method.
However, the report lists drawbacks including:
- A higher percentage of spoiled/remarked ballots
- Electors experience difficulty completing
- Mail delays and potential postal strikes
- Ballots received after voting day or without a signed voter declaration card could not be counted
- Delay in reporting results
- Mailed ballots cast ahead of time mean voters may miss important late developments that influence voting
- Growth complicates estimating eligible voters
Legislation requires alternative voting methods to be decided by May 1 the year of the election but the report said staff see an advantage to selecting a method this year.
“Early procurement of a vendor and securing the necessary equipment early may be important, given most municipalities across Ontario and perhaps other provinces who may have delayed elections due to COVID-19, will be using alternative voting methods,” the report says.
The committee of the whole meets on Monday to choose an option for council approval.
