Sherbrooke launches new electoral website
The City of Sherbrooke unveiled a new tool designed to help local electors get all the information they need with regard to the upcoming municipal election on Thursday afternoon. The new web page and interactive map are a replacement for a printed guide available in past years.
“This is a first step towards the electoral process,” said Line Chabot, Sherbrooke’s Returning Officer, explaining that the site was put online early to ensure that electors and prospective candidates get the most information possible, as soon as possible.
Chabot explained that this is the third time that the city has created such a page, although the first edition was comparatively quite simple. This time around, she added, the complex tool was an in-house creation, relying on the expertise of the city’s existing staff to create a tool designed to answer any questions that a person in the city might conceivably have with regard to the electoral process.
Asked about the decision to take the information completely online, the returning officer explained that the choice was made based on the changing nature of technology and driven by an interest from the population.
“Paper is used less and less, so we’re motivated to get information to electors in new ways,” Chabot said.
Chabot described the page as “an evolving tool” that will update and change over the course of the weeks between now and November fifth. The pace of those updates, she added, will
increase significantly after September 22nd, when the official registration period for political candidates opens. At the moment the site features general information about the election and registration processes involved, but as time goes on users will be able to find information on candidates, voting stations, and even results on the site.
For the time being, the returning officer said that the main thing local electors should be thinking about is whether they are registered to vote.
“Unlike in a provincial or federal election where one can register the day-of, in a municipal election you must be on the list beforehand to vote,” Chabot said.
On the organizational side of things, she added that the electoral office is looking for close to 1000 people to work on the day of the election in a wide range of roles. Anyone interested in applying for one of these jobs is invited to apply online, although applications will also be accepted at the office itself, located at 202 Wellington North, suite 003. Chabot underlined the fact that workers do not need to be electors or even of legal age to vote in order to help out.
“There are jobs for everyone,” she said.
Like much of the city of Sherbrooke’s website, the new election tool is not available in English, but Chabot explained that all of the mail-outs and information sent to the borough of Lennoxville are supposed to be in both English and French in order to respect the community’s bilingual status.
“We have all forms available in English,” she said, adding that she was certain that someone in the office would be able to interact in English if faced with questions from a unilingual English speaker.
Anyone with questions for the Sherbrooke elections office can call 819 8226100.
The new web page can be consulted by visiting https://www.ville.sherbrooke.qc.ca/fr/sous-site/election-2017/