“I really don’t like vote by mail,” Guelph-Eramosa councillor Doug Breen began on Monday night.
That seemed to be a huge understatement, given the spiel Breen then went on regarding alternative voting methods. For several minutes he lambasted past efforts, including vote by mail and vote by phone, before embarking on an Obama-esque speech about the importance of the democratic process.
“The important things you do in life, you get up, you go out and you do,” he said, adding, “I didn’t mail in my wedding vows.”
Breen said the traditional ballot method has worked pretty well for the last few hundred years and election day is an important community event. He rejected the idea of even considering vote by mail for the 2010 municipal election.
Guelph-Eramosa was among several Wellington County municipalities to use vote by mail in 2006. While that method managed to increase voter turnout in Guelph-Eramosa to 40% (from 29% in 2003) it also created confusion for voters and has raised concerns about security and relying on Canada Post for timely delivery. Previous experiments with vote by phone also turned out to be logistical nightmares, as countless voters could not get through.
Councillor Reta Moyer agreed with Breen and said she would have applauded his comments if it were appropriate to do so.
“Our democracy is too important to take the easy way out,” Moyer said.
Councillor John Scott he also agreed, but he said the township could at least explore the other avenues through a “cost effective analysis.”
Moyer asked if Scott was implying the cost is more important than the democratic process. Scott replied he was not going to debate the matter.
Mayor Chris White said he also prefers the traditional method of voting, given what he’s heard about problems with phone and mail voting. He suggested the township wait until someone perfects an alternative method before considering them again.
Council unanimously passed a resolution to use only in-person poll voting in 2010.
