Higher voter turnout in Sudbury in last month's election compared to provincial average

The City of Greater Sudbury says the numbers from last month's election should dispel the idea that online voting scared citizens away.

Turnout to vote in the municipal election in Sudbury was 45 per cent, beating the provincial average of 37 per cent.

Voting was extended in Sudbury for an additional 24 hours last month, after the online voting system crashed due to issues with the elections service provider, Dominion Voting Systems.

Overall, 82 per cent of all ballots cast were online, as opposed to voting at a physical polling station, and 63 percent of registered voters aged 65 to 74 exercised their right.

Danielle Wicklander, the legislative compliance co-ordinator with the city, says she thinks the numbers dispel the worry that seniors may have had trouble with the technology.

"But I do think that those people hold voting in a very high regard," she said.

"It is important for them so they will vote regardless of the method and they will find a way to do it."

Changes being considered

Wicklander says Sudburians from as far away as Europe, the United States and the Arctic cast their votes successfully.

However, she says only about 130 votes were cast on the city bus that was turned into a mobile advance poll.

"We may take a relook at the bus and see if maybe it's better used as, say, an advertising tool as opposed to an actual voting location," she said.

"We may look at using those resources that we had put onto the bus for advance voting into a different way."

Despite having a higher turnout that the provincial average, the number of people who voted in Sudbury was down compared to the previous municipal election. In the 2014 municipal election, 51 per cent of Sudburians voted.

"In 2014, we did have a higher voter turnout, but at the same time, we also had three referendum questions on the ballot," she said.