Quinte West City Council approved the use of paper ballots and tabulators, as well as online voting, for the 2026 municipal election.
The decision was made at a special council meeting on Wednesday.
In a presentation to council, city clerk Josh Machesney outlined his role and responsibilities in helping conduct the election as well give an overview into the trends and methods of voting.
He concluded that the recommended approach would be to utilize paper ballots and internet voting while also allowing for the use of optical scan tabulators.
Machesney also recommended that polling stations be found in each ward in Quinte West.
This was based on engagement with the community through surveys, polls and in-person feedback.
While the elections budget would be brought forward in the 2026 operating budget process, it was indicated that the city has approximately $140,000 in election reserves currently, and continues to transfer approximately $70,000 annually for use for regular municipal elections and potential by-elections.
The projected available reserve would be $280,000 for 2026.
Internet voting was said to be the most cost-effective option among voting methods (approximately $55,000 in 2022) while a paper ballot solution would cost approximately $110,000 based on recent informal quotes that the city received.
The number of physical voting locations was also said to substantially affect the cost of an election, as well as the number of public election workers and city staff required for different voting locations.
The total cost of the 2022 municipal election was $208,315.
Machesney wrapped up his presentation with a look at the timeline of key dates for the 2026 municipal election.
- May 1, 2026: Nomination period begins
- August 21, 2026: Last day to file nomination papers
- September 26, 2026: Advanced voting starts
- October 27, 2026: Election Day
The next steps will be to establish voting locations as well as develop an election communication strategy.
Machesney hopes to have those details presented to council by the end of the summer to early fall 2025.
