EVote reboot for Clarence-Rockland?

Residents of Clarence-Rockland may be doing all their voting from home during next year’s municipal elections.

Council’s committee of the whole reviewed a report on a proposed contract with Intellivote Systems Inc. for an Internet and telephone voting system for the 2018 civic election. Intellivote Systems was the successful bidder among four companies to set up a regional electronic voting system for Prescott-Russell’s communities.

Administration staff for all eight municipalities in PrescottRussell evaluated the proposals using a points system based on price and design of the e-voting setup offered. Intellivote Systems’ proposal gathered 73 points from the evaluation, compared to other two competitors, Simply Voting and Scytl, with 58 and 52 points respectively. Several council members questioned whether the city might see a repeat of the 2014 election debacle, which included delays for results, problems in casting digital ballots, and concerns about confidentiality of the voter information mail-outs. Scytl was contracted that time for an e-voting system but not all Prescott-Russell municipalities opted in. Alfred-Plantagenet Township maintained its traditional paper ballot method.

Administration told council that Intellivote has a decade of experience in providing e-voting systems for 95 Ontario municipal election events. Total estimated cost for the e-vote system, including mail-out of voter registration and digital ballot information, would be about $45,000 maximum. The cost would come out of the city’s election reserve fund to which council allocates funding during each annual budget plan.

The report and resolution on an e-voting system will come back for final decision at a future council session.

Les élections municipales auront lieu l’année prochaine. La Cité Clarence-Rockland pourrait utiliser un système de vote électronique pour les bulletins de vote.