Town considers paperless 2010 election

Posted By VALERIE MACDONALD

Posted 3 months ago

A completely paperless system may be used when town residents vote for their municipal council and school board representatives next year.

Cobourg Mayor Peter Delanty anticipates upwards of 55% of electors would vote in 2010, up from 44.91% in 2006 when the town used a combination of paper ballots at polling stations and electronic voting. The election before that, which used only paper ballots, realized voter turnout of 36.47%.

"Getting over 50% (voter turnout in 2010) would be superb, if we could get that," Delanty said.

As in the last municipal election, Intelivote Systems Inc. of Nova Scotia would provide the electronic voting service, which can be used over the telephone or Internet. Each person would be given a personal identification number with which to vote and, once used to complete the entire voting choices, it cannot be used again. Also as in 2006, people can start their voting on the telephone and complete it at a later time, or use the Internet, or vice versa.

The 2006 election cost $87,895 while the election in November 2010 would be expected to cost a little less due to reduced staffing costs at the series of polling stations used in 2006, manager of Cobourg's legislative services, Lorraine Brace, toldNorthumberland Todayduring an interview yesterday.

For those who wouldn't want to use the telephone or home computer, there would be "one central polling location with trained staff to assist the voters by providing the opportunity for the elector to vote by Internet," stated a report provided to councillors at Monday night's committee of the whole meeting.

Intelivote Systems vice-president of business development, Stephen Beamish, agreed with Delanty's expectation that voter turnout would increase in the next election. Comparisons with other similar- sized municipalities show this trend, he said.

Beamish noted that the elderly and those with physical disabilities who have not gone out to polling stations in the past are far more likely to vote from the comfort of their own home.

Letters mailed to voters before the election would contain all of the information about how to vote and the candidates running for various positions so that the order is the same as provided in the electronic voting form, Beamish said.

In addition, soldiers deployed to Afghanistan or people vacationing in Florida could all vote more easily using the electronic system, he said.

Starting Jan. 4, 2010, the nomination and campaign period begins for the next municipal election. The final voting day is Nov. 8 but there can be a minimum of five days of voting before that and some places have used an entire month, council heard.

The system must be formally approved at next week's formal session of Cobourg council.