The City of Quinte West is moving towards paperless voting for the 2022 municipal election.
At Monday’s council meeting, council agreed in principle to provide paperless voting when residents hit the polls next year.
The process involves sending voters packages containing a PIN number which they can then safely use to vote online or in person at one of two consolidated polling stations.
According to the report submitted to council, in 2014 internet voting accounted for 21% of all votes cast. In 2018 that number jumped to 33% of the total. Staff expect the trend to continue especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two locations being proposed for the consolidated polling stations are the Trenton Arena and the Batawa Community Centre due to the large spaces which can accommodate social distancing. The voting at the in-person polling stations would still be done electronically.
The roving poll station, which goes to hospitals and long-term care homes, is also part of the plan and public transit would be available free of charge to and from polling stations.
Just recently the City of Belleville began to take steps towards paperless voting for its upcoming election. The city is entering a period of public consultation on the matter before making a final decision in April.
