NOTL rejects online voting for next year’s election

Niagara-on-the-Lake residents will likely continue to cast paper ballots in the next municipal election in 2018 after town councillors again rejected Internet voting.

The move to electronic ballots was also turned down for the last election in 2014.

On Monday, staff recommended to the town council’s corporate services advisory committee that Internet voting replace the traditional method of casting paper ballots at polling stations. They reported that 97 of Ontario’s 444 municipalities used Internet voting in 2014.

Staff also suggested that telephone voting be offered as another option. For people who don’t own computers or other devices to access the Internet, staff said computers and assistance would be provided at the advance polling stations and on election day.

“The adoption of technology is becoming a worldwide trend,” staff reported. “Internet voting enhances the convenience of voting for a broad range of voters, as well as significantly removes barriers to voting for persons with disabilities.”

However, staff noted that there are also risks associated with any unsupervised voting methodology.

Councillors also heard a presentation by a representative of Dominion Voting Systems, a company that operates Internet voting for several Ontario municipalities and around the world. Stephen Beamish predicted that the number of Ontario municipalities using electronic ballots will probably double or triple in next year’s elections.

Coun. Jamie King expressed concerns about the reliability of Internet connections in some parts of the rural areas of the community and the establishment of the identity of the voter when ballots are cast online.

“We’re not voting by households,” he said. “We’re voting by individuals. Everyone deserves the privacy of polling stations.”

Coun. Jim Collard said he believes that the Internet is a secure voting option, citing the large number of people who do their banking electronically. His objection to Internet voting was the loss of social interaction for voters at the polling stations on election day.

“Voting was always a social affair and it is to this day,” said Collard. “The election is a process for us to connect with our friends and neighbours.”