Report : C-10-006

Telephone (905) 468-3266
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1593 Four Mile Creek Road
P.O. Box 100
Virgil, Ontario
L0S 1T0

		Submitted on:	May 03, 2010
Report:	C-10-006

Report To:	Corporate Services Advisory Committee
Subject:	Municipal Election 2010 Vote By Mail

1. RECOMMENDATION

It is respectfully recommended

1.1 that Council grant permission to the Clerk to proceed with the Vote by Mail sign up process for the 2010 Municipal Election; and
1.2 that staff prepare a procedure outlining the Vote by Mail process by June 1, 2010; and
1.3 that a by-law be prepared and forwarded to Council for approval, authorizing Vote by Mail as an option for the 2010 Municipal Election.

2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL

The purpose of this report is to request Council to approve an additional voting method for the upcoming 2010 Municipal Election, voting day October 25, 2010.

3. BACKGROUND

Under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, (herein referred to as "the Act"), clerks of local municipalities are responsible for preparing and conducting elections. Therefore, under the Act it is the Clerk's responsibility to ensure that all members of the electorate are given every opportunity to vote and that the voting process is as accessible and accountable as possible.

Since the Act was ratified, a variety of alternative voting methods have been implemented by municipalities within Ontario. The benefits for investigating such methods include: (a) improved convenience for voters; (b) enhanced accessibility; and (c) the opportunity for increased voter turnout. The alternative voting methods are available again for the 2010 Municipal Election.

Many municipalities throughout Ontario have moved anyway from the traditional poll-only voting and moving toward alternative voting.

3.1 Traditional Poll Voting

For many years the traditional poll-only voting had been used as the means for voting in municipal elections. This method consists of voters casting their vote at designated polling locations on Election Day and/or during an advance poll period. Though some consider this voting method to be the most secure, there have been signs that this may not be the most convenient way to vote, especially when attracting the next generation of voters.

3.2 Alternative Voting Methods

In the past few elections, clerks across the province have been looking to alternative voting methods, in order to increase voter turnout and to make the voting method more flexible and accessible to the needs of the electorate.

Vote by Mail

Vote by mail is an alternative voting method which consists of a mail-in ballot package being mailed to voters, followed by the completed ballots being mailed to or dropped off at the Town Administration Building to be counted. Many municipalities have used this method due to its benefits, which include:

increasing voter turnout;
ability to reach a broad spectrum of the electorate and provide a convenient and alternative means for them to cast their vote; and
provision of an accessible service to all residents, especially important due to recent legislation requiring improved customer service for persons with disabilities

4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS
The method used in the Municipal Elections in Niagara-on-the-Lake is Traditional Poll-only voting and in past five (5) elections, optical scan tabulators, known as "Accu Vote" machines have tabulated the results. By-law 3072-96 authorized the use of optical scanning vote tabulators for the 1997 election and all elections thereafter governed by the Municipal Elections Act, as amended.

Section 45(2) of the Act provides that when establishing the location of voting places, "the clerk shall ensure that each voting place is accessible to electors with disabilities". It is getting quite difficult to find public places that meet the criteria of the Accessible Ontarians Disability Act (AODA). Section 45(2) of the Act was amended as it previously stated "the clerk shall have regard to the needs of electors with disabilities". It is felt that in future elections, there will be more legislated requirements for clerks to meet the needs of electors with disabilities. Niagara-on-the-Lake will be using Town owned facilities wherever possible, but churches and local schools are also used as they are accessible for electors. It is felt that schools are not ideal locations for elections as "strangers" are in and out of the building all day while the children attend classes.

Vote by Mail has been considered by staff, but when reviewing the situation, it was felt the Accu Vote equipment will still be suitable for one more election. Therefore, Niagara-on-the-Lake will continue to hold the Traditional Poll Voting. In a future report to Committee, dates and locations for the Advance Voting will be identified, as well as the confirmed eight polling place locations (map attached).

In addition to the Tradition Poll Voting method, staff is requesting that Vote by Mail be introduced in the 2010 Municipal Elections by way of a "sign up process". Clerk's staff hasn't finalized the entire process, but will be working with Election Software Systems (ESS) over the next while to complete all the details. ESS (company name has changed over the past five (5) elections) is the company the Town will be using to perform maintenance checks on the Accu Vote machines, create the ballots as well as provide back up support on the day of the election. The Town is also considering the use of a "ballot marker" which would be available at the Advance Voting stations for those with a disability. The machine is quite expensive to lease, but staff identify this to be a high priority for this election and future elections.

Clerk's staff will create an information sheet for electors, which will outline the following:

time and location where the voters list will be available for electors to check to see if they are on the voters list
time frame when additions/deletions/corrects can be made to the voters list
advance vote dates and locations
election day polling locations
proxy Voting

Should Council give approval to staff to move forward with a "sign up process" for Vote by Mail, staff will promote this as part of the electors' information sheet.

5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
A quote has been received from ESS to prepare 1,000 Vote by Mail packages for the 2010 Municipal Election at $2.55 each package for a total of $2,550.00. This has been included in the election budget.

6. COMMUNICATIONS
Communications is crucial to having a successful elector turnout at the polls. Staff will do everything in their power to communicate all steps regarding the 2010 Municipal Election, including the Vote by Mail sign up process, should Council approve this.

7. CONCLUSION
Staff feel it would be very beneficial to include the Vote by Mail sign up process to increase voter turnout for the 2010 Municipal Election. It will be interesting to see the response to Vote by Mail as alternative voting. Whether it be Vote by Mail, Internet Voting, or Telephone Voting, alternative voting methods are the way of the future.

Prepared by Respectfully submitted,

Holly Dowd Scott Tipping Clive Buist
Town Clerk Director Of Corporate Services Interim CAO

ATTACHMENTS

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