Elections Nova Scotia signs contract for electronic voting system

Elections Nova Scotia has signed a contract with an international corporation specializing in online voting software to develop a platform ahead of the next provincial election.

The contract with Scytl Canada Inc. includes $150,000 to develop the platform and $200,000 for operations during an election. It's expected the system's development will take about a year.

Amendments to the Elections Act in 2021 allowed for the use of internet voting for military members stationed outside Nova Scotia during an election.

Chief electoral officer Dorothy Rice hopes the platform will improve a situation for people who, in the past, felt excluded from the voting process and "that they will be engaged with the electoral process and democracy," she said in an interview.

'A secure platform'

Rice said the system would be evaluated following the next election in 2025, but so far there have not been talks about expanding access beyond military members.

"There may be some opportunities for further developments there, but not at this point in time. Those ideas have not been floated."

With its main office in Barcelona, Scytl has been developing internet voting software for 20 years. Its systems have been used in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Australia. Scytl has also designed platforms for municipal elections in Canada, including for the Halifax Regional Municipality and the cities of Vaughan and Markham in Ontario.

Ben Fagg, Scytl's vice-president of business development and global alliances, said the system the company will design for Elections Nova Scotia will build on products that have evolved in the last 20 years, but will be tailored to meet specific local needs.

"It's proven a secure platform," he said in an interview.

Although the company would provide operational support when the system is complete and an election is called, Fagg said Elections Nova Scotia would continue to take the lead.

"We provide the software, we provide the platform, the control of that is obviously in Election Nova Scotia's hands at all times."

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