The Town of South Bruce Peninsula plans to make the switch to online or telephone voting for the 2022 municipal election.
On Tuesday, Council voted to direct staff to bring forward a bylaw on a future meeting agenda to make the change.
In the past, the Town has used a mail- in voting method where a voting package was sent to voters who would fill it out, and mail it back in.
A Town staff report presented Tuesday says, “Vote by mail is very labour intensive as it includes the processing of ballot packages each day and the tabulating of ballots on Election Day.”
Staff also also note the other municipalities in Bruce County are using the telephone/internet voting method.
They say that method had its own issues in the last election in 2018 when results weren’t available on voting day as there was an overwhelming response and the online voting platform experienced issues. Staff explain, “It was found that an unauthorized reduction in bandwidth was experienced by their service provider.”
But they also note, after talking with election platform providers, they were assured it would be unlikely the same problem would occur in 2022.
The way it will work, is an information package will be sent to eligible voters which includes a Personal Identification Number (PIN) which the voter then uses their PIN to gain access to a ‘ballot’ to vote on the internet or by phone.
On a regional scale, staff say Bruce County Clerks are looking to support one voting platform supplier collectively so municipalities can cost share.
Staff note in their report, “While some people wonder about the security of voting by telephone and internet, the service providers are experienced and have the highest security protocols in place.”
They also say, in order to help those who do not have internet access, an assistance station can be set up at Town Hall where people who need phone or internet access can vote.
According to the report, voter turnout in the 2010 election was 57 per cent. The 2014 percentage was 53 per cent and 2018 was 47 per cent.
Staff also note, online and phone voting is expected to cost slightly less than mail-in voting because fewer staff are needed and there would be a decreased cost for postage.