Voters in Port Hawkesbury will not use paper ballots to elect their next mayor and town council in October.
During last night’s regular monthly meeting, Port Hawkesbury Town Council approved a recommendation from the committee-of-the-whole to use an electronic and phone voting system in the municipal election.
Following the meeting, CAO Terry Doyle said the town will host meetings with citizens, officials, and organizations to educate voters on the new method. He said training will also be offered to election workers and residents before votes are cast in the fall.
Doyle said town staff will be available to assist the public when voting starts and the town will have kiosks at advance polls to help residents.
During the regular monthly meeting on Dec. 19, Doyle said that the town has a bylaw that only applies to the 2020 election and council had to decide how residents will vote in October.
Doyle said staff collected information from other municipalities on voting options and noted that most municipalities have moved to an electronic and telephone voting system only.
In the 2020 election, the CAO said there 2,602 eligible electors and 1,901 electors voted, with 74 per cent of them voting by internet or telephone.
Doyle told the regular monthly meeting of Port Hawkesbury Town Council on Feb. 20 that municipalities using the telephone and electronic version “speak extremely highly to that.”
Noting “there’s more room for error around the paper ballot,” the CAO said there are challenges with a hybrid paper ballot and electronic voting system as well.
Finance Director Erin MacEachern said the hybrid system can be more complicated, while the online system is “extremely streamlined” with immediate results and no mistakes.
The finance director noted that the government is also considering electronic voting in the next provincial election.