More than 150 Ontario communities have scrapped in-person ballot boxes. What will that mean for voter turnout?

Municipal election day is quickly approaching in Ontario, and this year many communities are turning to tech-only voting methods, with 151 municipal governments across the province not holding in-person ballot boxes in favour of either online voting, phone voting or a combination of both methods.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario says there will be 417 municipal elections held in the province on Oct. 24, and more than half — 217 — have decided to use some form of online or phone voting. That's up from 175 municipalities four years ago.

In Thunder Bay, officials say things are going well, despite an early online ballot error that gave 27 voters the wrong ballot. By Wednesday evening, about 75 per cent of the 10,600 people who'd registered their ballot in Thunder Bay had done so online, city election officials said. 

Having multiple voting formats is something that author and political engagement expert Dave Meslin believes can increase participation, but only if it's done in an inclusive and accessible way.

"If you want to appeal to a large audience you have to offer your service in different formats to reach a larger audience and make sure that everyone is as comfortable as possible," said Meslin, who is also a senior associate of democratic innovation with Armstrong Strategy Group.

"If you're running an election you definitely want to make sure that if someone wants to vote online, they can. But if for whatever reason, they either aren't comfortable voting online for security issues … or they just like the old fashioned tradition of standing in line at a ballot box, you definitely want to provide that as well," he explained.

Last year, The Armstrong Strategy group published the 2021 Ontario Municipal Democracy Index, which measured the political health of Ontario's 32 largest municipalities based on the last election period in 2018.

Part of the index measure looks at the ways municipalities are trying to make local government more inclusive, such as the number of voting options on offer. 

Thunder Bay had highest turnout in Ontario in 2018

According to the index, Thunder Bay was the only city in Ontario to offer three methods of voting in 2018. The city also had the highest voter turnout in the province during the election that year with more than 50 percent of the population casting a ballot.

The provincial voter turnout average in 2018 was around 38 percent, according to the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO). Most municipalities scored zero points in the index study when it came to the voting options in 2018, because they only offer one method.

While online platforms can be a much more accessible option for many, Meslin said municipalities should offer at least two to three voting options. He said municipalities should also be aware of the groups of people that can be disadvantaged by tech-only voting options.

Meslin pointed to people who may not have strong tech literacy, or simply don't trust an online voting system, including vulnerable people who do not have stable housing. 

"Say you didn't have a fixed address, no one is going to be mailing you your pin number, right? So it's really important that there's a physical place that you can just go and say, I want to vote, this is who I am, here's my ID," he said. 

Issues with online voting platforms

Sally Colquhoun, the coordinator of legal services at Kinna-aweya Legal Clinic, is also concerned about how online-only options can affect vulnerable people. 

The legal clinic, which specializes in poverty law, works out of Thunder Bay, but also has branch offices and clients across northwestern Ontario.

Colquhoun said unequal access to digital technology is a big issue across the region, especially for people on social assistance who already have difficulty paying for basic necessities. 

"Often people have an old cell phone that doesn't have a plan," she said. "Often people don't have devices at all." 

Colquhoun said her clinic saw first hand how a lack of access to tech can be a barrier to people, especially when much of the world went digital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

About a dozen communities in northwestern Ontario have opted to have internet and telephone voting only this year. The Township of Marathon has gone completely online with its voting methods.

Colquhoun said she hopes those communities are making computers and connected devices available at public spaces so they can still vote. 

The Town of Marathon in northwestern Ontario is one of five municipalities in the entire province offering online voting exclusively, according to AMO.

The deputy clerk of the town says in Marathon, residents received a voting letter with a unique PIN with which they are able to vote online with. However, the town is also offering a physical voting kiosk for those who are having issues voting or who do not have access to the internet.

The voting kiosk is available at the Town Office and available during regular business hours and from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24.

Marathon town council approved the alternative voting method in 2021, after just a 33 percent voter turn out in 2018.

Louise Lees, Marathon's deputy clerk, said the decision was also made in the face of COVID, which continues to cause uncertainties for municipal staff and residents. 

Despite the move to online voting, the province has yet to bring in provincial standards on how to carry that out. 

The province's Municipal Elections Act allows municipalities to opt to use alternative methods to voting at the polls — such as online, telephone and mail-in ballots — if a council passes a bylaw. Municipal clerks are then responsible for establishing the procedures.