ELORA – Centre Wellington will offer internet and telephone voting in the 2022 municipal election.
Council agreed at its meeting on April 26 to provide the option next year.
Kerri O’Kane, township clerk, offered two options for council: internet and telephone voting or mail-in voting.
O’Kane explained that while there is still plenty of time for planning, it could be an advantage to decide well ahead of time and secure a service provider.
Internet voting was offered in 2018 and it was very successful, O’Kane said, with a 42% voter turnout.
Mail-in voting was used in 2014 with a 45% voter turnout, but there were flaws with the system, she said, including a higher percentage of spoiled ballots, mail delays, and therefore delayed election results.
At $167,000, mail-in voting is also more expensive compared to internet voting, which comes in at $122,000.
“I like Option 1 (internet and telephone voting),” said councillor Ian MacRae.
“It worked well last time and gives flexibility if COVID is still a problem.”
Councillor Stephan Kitras agreed, noting, “It was better than I thought.”
However, he wondered why voter turnout was higher with mail-in ballots.
“The method of voting is not necessarily what increases voter turnout,” O’Kane said.
“Usually it’s the controversial races that increase voter turnout.”
O’Kane said staff would employ lessons learned from 2018 to improve flow and avoid long lineups for voters by having more touch screen devices available, setting up more Voter Help centres, and clear instructions for people who will vote from home.
In 2018, in-person voting stations were set up at the municipal office in Elora and at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex in Fergus, and that will happen again, she said in an email after the meeting.
In-person voting is mainly for people who don’t have access to a computer or who require assistance.
“There will be no paper ballots,” she wrote.
Council voted unanimously for online voting.
