Town council elects to have mail-in ballot again for 2010 election
Posted Nov 26, 2009 By Dianne Pinder-Moss
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Tweet ThisEMC News - The electorate of Smiths Falls will be choosing its 2010 council the same way it has in the two previous municipal elections - by mail-in ballot.
Town council approved this method of voting at its Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting on Monday night after hearing clerk Kerry Costello speak about how the new system had increased voter participation in the election process.
In the 2006 election, 54.28 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot through the mail-in system, she related, as compared to 40.97 per cent in 2000 when people were still required to go to a polling station to vote. When the new system was introduced in the 2003 campaign, 48.27 per cent of voters took part.
Mayor Dennis Staples was interested in knowing if there were any other systems that would be "more effective" in improving overall participation.
"System-wise, no," Costello responded. "I think it is a system that works well."
Along with encouraging more people to vote, another advantage of the mail-in system she cited was accessibility. It allows "any time, any where voting," she said.
Likewise, Costello told The EMC that the new system has reduced staff requirements for the election and eliminated proxy voting and advanced voting.
Costello doesn't know what the rationale was for switching over to this system of voting but "whatever it was, it works well," she stated.
With regards to increasing voter numbers even further, she suggested that education was the key, particularly with high school students who have reached the legal age to vote.
Town CAO Wayne Brown emphasized on Monday night the importance of people who want to vote but have moved since the last municipal election to check with the returning officer to ensure their names are on the voters list.
"We had stacks and stacks (of ballots) returned by the post office" in 2006, he mentioned.
Along with choosing the voting method, municipal councils are also allowed under the Municipal Elections Act to set the budget for the election.
In response to a query from councillor Ken Graham, Costello told council that the budget for the 2010 election would be approximately $30,000. In addition to the cost of the mail-in voting system, other election expenses include tabulation equipment, advertising and office supplies because of the various forms used.
The big unknown with regards to the 2010 election, aside from who the candidates will be, is the election date.
While Nov. 8 is currently listed as the election day, if Bill 212, which incorporates changes to many pieces of legislation, including the elections act, receives third reading at Queen's Park, the date will be moved up to Oct. 25.
From what Costello has been able to gather, the bill is supposed to be reviewed today (Nov. 26) in the provincial legislature with third reading scheduled for Nov. 30.
