Windsor votes for e-options

BY JENNIFER HOEGG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Windsorians will have new voting options this fall. Town Council’s March 25 decision to contract Intelivote Systems Inc.’s services for the Oct. 18 municipal election brings added choices: vote by paper ballot, phone, cell phone or computer.

The company will also provide electoral list management for the municipality, sending information to every registered voter.

“I’m thrilled about it,” Mayor Anna Allen said after the decision. “I feel we should offer every opportunity we can for our residents to have the opportunity to vote.”

Voters of all ages will find the phone and Internet voting options appealing, Allen said. “I’m thinking of my dad, who is 87; he loves his laptop.”

Intelivote president and founder Dean Smith is happy to add Windsor to the company’s growing list of clients. “We’re delighted,” he said. “Hopefully, our technology will provide a level of choice for the citizens of Windsor, allowing them choice and opportunity to vote, whether it’s from the phone at home, from the office or from the park on their cell phone.”

After running successful elections in Ontario and the United Kingdom, the Dartmouth company was chosen recently by Stewiacke and Halifax for the 2008 municipal vote.

Smith reports that many jurisdictions have seen a marked increase in voter turnout by adding voting options. “We just completed a by-election Monday in Montague, Ontario. Last by-election had a 16 per cent turnout. This was an all-electronic election and they had a 37 per cent turnout.”

Allen is hoping to see similar increases in Windsor’s voter turnout, which is usually around 30 per cent. “This will be a real test for us,” she said, “to see if offering more opportunities increases turnout.”

Now that the choice has been made, work is just beginning for Returning Officer Patricia Lowthers and Town staff, CAO Louis Coutinho notes. "Council has taken a big step in ensuring that the town's citizens have an alternate to the paper ballot. Staff's role is now to ensure that we prepare for this eventuality and it includes bringing forward to council appropriate bylaw and policy changes to facilitate electronic voting."