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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCLK 02-25Report to Executive Committee Report Number: CLK 02-25 Date: May 5, 2025 From: Paul Bigioni Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor Subject: Approval of Voting Methods for the 2026 Municipal Election File: A-1440 Recommendations: 1. That Report CLK 02-25 regarding the approval of voting methods for the 2026 Municipal Election be received; 2.That both internet voting and paper ballots, using vote tabulators, be approved as thevoting methods for the 2026 Municipal Election and any by-elections that may occurduring the 2026-2030 Term of Council; 3.That the draft By-law included as Attachment 1 to Report CLK 02-25 be approved and enacted; 4.That the City Clerk be directed to proceed with a Request for Proposal for the approvedvoting methods and associated services, and report back to Council to award the contractto the most appropriate vendor(s); and, 5.That appropriate City of Pickering officials be authorized to take the actions necessary to give effect to this report. Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s approval for the recommended voting methods for the 2026 Municipal Election and to commence the Request for Proposal (RFP) process to secure the appropriate vendor(s) to give effect to the approved voting methods. Relationship to the Pickering Strategic Plan: The recommendations in this report respond to the Pickering Strategic Plan Priority of Foster an Engaged and Informed Community. Financial Implications: In accordance with Section 7(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, the costs incurred by the clerk of a local municipality in conducting an election shall be paid by the local municipality. To ensure that sufficient funds are available for each municipal election, funds in the amount of $110,000 are added to the City’s Election Reserve each year for the four years leading up to a municipal election. Due to some unspent funds from the 2022 Municipal Election, and including the annual contributions to the Election Reserve, a total of $516,340 will be available to cover the costs of the 2026 Municipal Election. CLK 02-25 May 5, 2025 Subject: Approval of Voting Methods for the 2026 Municipal Election Page 2 The costs of the election are not yet known, however, the costs for the 2022 Municipal Election were $435,075. Any increased costs over those incurred for the 2022 Municipal Elections should be limited to inflationary costs resulting from the passage of time. The financial implications specifically associated with the election voting method services will be outlined when the recommendation to award the RFP is brought back before Council for approval. Discussion: The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s approval for the recommended voting methods for the 2026 Municipal Election and to commence the RFP process to secure the appropriate vendor(s) to give effect to the approved voting methods. The 2026 Municipal Election will take place on Monday, October 26, 2026. Section 42(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 32, (the “Act”), states “the council of a local municipality may pass by-laws authorizing the use of voting and vote-counting equipment such as voting machines, voting recorders or optical scanning vote tabulators, as well as authorizing electors to use an alternative voting method, such as voting by mail or by telephone, that does not require electors to attend a voting place in order to vote”. A. 2018 and 2022 Municipal Election Statistics For the 2018 Municipal Election, internet and telephone voting were utilized for the first time in the City of Pickering. Overall, the use of these methods was successful, however some electors provided feedback that telephone voting was cumbersome and difficult to use. For this reason, for the 2022 Municipal Election, it was recommended that instead of telephone voting, a paper ballot option, using vote tabulators, would be available in addition to internet voting. These voting methods proved to be successful and provided voters with the option of casting their vote either over the internet, or in person at designated voting locations. The voter turnout for the 2022 Municipal Election was 27.24%. In total, there were 76,305 registered voters with 20,786 voters casting a ballot. Of the total ballots cast, 16,424 were cast using internet voting while 4,362 were cast by paper ballot. In contrast, the voter turnout for the 2018 Municipal Election was 28.8%. In total, there were 68,494 registered voters with 19,777 voters casting a ballot. Of the total ballots cast, 18,801 were cast using internet voting while 976 voters cast their ballot by telephone. As demonstrated in the voting results for the 2018 and 2022 Municipal Elections, internet voting has been widely accepted by the electorate in the City of Pickering. Although the voter turnout for 2022 was slightly lower than 2018, it was apparent that some electors who may have used internet voting in 2018 preferred to cast their ballot by paper when that option was made available in 2022. That said, given that 79% of the ballots cast in the 2022 Municipal Election were done using internet voting, it is apparent that this voting method is preferred by most of the electorate even when a paper ballot option was offered. The inclusion of a paper ballot component proved to be successful for the small number of electors who did not want to use internet voting and therefore, the use of these combined voting methods is once again being recommended for the 2026 Municipal Election. CLK 02-25 May 5, 2025 Subject: Approval of Voting Methods for the 2026 Municipal Election Page 3 B. Benefits of Internet Voting and Paper Ballot Internet Voting offers several benefits to electors including: • accessibility and the ability to access the ballot from different devices from anywhere with an internet connection; • the ability for electors with disabilities to vote independently, from the location of their choice, using any accessible devices that they may be accustomed to using; • convenience for those less inclined to travel to a voting location to vote; • removal of the need for voting proxies, which can be a cumbersome process for both the elector and the proxy; • reduction in administrative costs due to the need for fewer voting centers, equipment rentals, and hiring of staff; • elimination of unintentional spoiled ballots; • more streamlined administrative processes; and, • faster tabulation of election results. The benefits of paper ballots include: • familiarity of the voting practice for electors that have been accustomed to that method of voting for many years; • the ability to physically touch and mark a ballot, which may be important to some electors; • the symbolic significance (for some electors) in attending a voting place in person to carry out their civic duty; and, • when combined with the use of vote tabulators, it offers a streamlined, in-person process for electors who prefer this method of voting. C. Internet Voting in Ontario Internet voting has been steadily adopted by municipalities across the province of Ontario since it was first used in the 2003 Municipal Election by 12 municipalities. According to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, 217 municipalities in Ontario used internet voting in the 2022 Municipal Election. This was an increase from the 2018 Municipal Election where 175 municipalities used internet voting. This trend demonstrates that more municipalities are adopting the use of internet voting and those who previously used internet voting continue to use this voting method. D. National Standard of Canada: Internet Voting and Vote Tabulators With any alternative voting method, there is an associated level of risk. Despite these concerns, staff are not aware of a single example of voter fraud or a security breach in any Ontario municipality that has used internet voting or vote tabulators. It should also be noted that as internet voting has evolved over time, so have the security measures that have been put in place, as well as best practices and lessons learned from municipalities that have used this voting method for several elections. CLK 02-25 May 5, 2025 Subject: Approval of Voting Methods for the 2026 Municipal Election Page 4 The Act will be 30 years old when the 2026 Election takes place. Since 2023, the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario has been advocating for the Province to undertake a review and rewrite of the antiquated legislation, as it does not contemplate modern voting methods. In the absence of prescribed voting standards in the current legislation, municipal clerks and election stakeholders have been advocating for voting standards that can be used province-wide to provide a consistent approach that incorporates best practices. To that end, the Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) has published a “National Standard of Canada” for both internet voting and vote tabulators. DGSI is a Canadian non-profit organization with membership from the public, private and non-profit sectors. DGSI is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), the Federal Crown corporation that oversees national standards. The SCC recognizes DGSI’s voting standard as a “National Standard of Canada”. The DGSI standard has been designed to reduce risks for Canadians and Canadian organizations, and covers technical design, security of systems and data, voter identity and vote authentication, verification, testing and auditability, access of voting services and voter information, secrecy of the vote, ballot design and casting options, network capacity, election management, accessibility, and transparency. In preparation for the 2026 Municipal Election, Legislative Services and Information Technology staff have reviewed the DGSI Voting Standards as a framework for ensuring a secure, accessible, and reliable voting process. These standards, developed in consultation with electoral experts and technology providers, set a benchmark for the implementation of online voting and voting technologies in Canada. Incorporating these standards into our procurement and operational processes will help ensure that our election meets the highest industry standards for security, integrity, and public confidence. As part of this initiative, staff will integrate the DGSI Standards into the upcoming RFP for voting systems, ensuring that the selected platform(s) align with these best practices. Conclusion The City Clerk, as the Returning Officer for the City of Pickering under the Act, has several criteria to consider before making a recommendation on vote-counting equipment and alternative voting methods. The first is whether a particular voting method upholds the principles of the Act and its Regulations as well as the guiding principles established by case law, which are as follows: • the secrecy and confidentiality of the voting process is paramount; • the election shall be fair and non-biased; • the election shall be accessible to voters; • the integrity of the voting process shall be maintained throughout the election; • there is to be certainty that the results of the election reflect the votes cast; • voters and candidates shall be treated fairly and consistently; and, • the proper majority vote governs by ensuring that valid votes are counted and invalid votes are rejected so far as reasonably possible. CLK 02-25 May 5, 2025 Subject: Approval of Voting Methods for the 2026 Municipal Election Page 5 These factors have all been taken into consideration in formulating the recommendations contained in this report. Additionally, any voting methods used for the election will go through robust logic and accuracy testing to ascertain that the systems are operating as intended. Any vendors procured for election voting method services will be required to have solutions that are thoroughly tested and provide ample consideration to the security of the election as well as the ability to provide support services throughout the election planning process and the entire voting period, to address any issues that may arise. Planning for the 2026 Municipal Election has already commenced in the Clerk’s Office, and staff are seeking approval from Council for the voting method to ensure that voting services are procured as early as possible to allow the planning and preparation for the Election to continue. By employing a hybrid approach of internet and paper ballots with vote tabulators, the City will give electors the option to cast their ballot by their preferred voting method. It is therefore requested that Council approve the combined voting methods outlined in this report for the 2026 Municipal Election and for any by-elections that may occur in the 2026-2030 Term of Council. Attachments: 1. Draft By-law to Authorize the Use of Internet Voting, Paper Ballots and Vote Tabulators for the 2026 Municipal Election Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By: Susan Cassel Paul Bigioni City Clerk Director, Corporate Services & City Solicitor SC Recommended for the consideration of Pickering City Council Marisa Carpino, M.A. Chief Administrative Officer Original Signed By:Original Signed By: Original Signed By: The Corporation of the City of Pickering By-law No. XXXX/25 Being a by-law to authorize the use of an alternative voting method for the 2026 Municipal Election Whereas Section 42(1) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 32 (the “MEA”), provides that the council of a local municipality may pass by-laws: (a) authorizing the use of voting and vote-counting equipment such as voting machines, voting recorders or optical scanning vote tabulators; (b) authorizing electors to use an alternative voting method, such as voting by mail or by telephone that does not require electors to attend at a voting place in order to vote. And Whereas Section 42(5) of the MEA provides when a by-law authorizing the use of an alternative voting method is in effect, sections 43 (advance votes) and 44 (voting proxies) apply only if the by-law so specifies; Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the City of Pickering hereby enacts as follows: 1. That the use of internet voting, paper ballots and vote tabulators be authorized for the 2026 Municipal Election and for any by-elections in the 2026-2030 Term of Council; 2. That the Clerk be authorized to use internet voting and/or paper ballots during any advance voting period and on Voting Day for the 2026 Municipal Election and for any by-elections in the 2026-2030 Term of Council; 3. That in accordance with the MEA, and due to the authorization of an alternative voting method, proxy voting provisions shall not be applicable for the 2026 Municipal Election or for any by-elections in the 2026-2030 Term of Council; and, 4. That By-law 7846/21 is hereby repealed. By-law passed this 26th day of May, 2025. ________________________________ Kevin Ashe, Mayor ________________________________ Susan Cassel, City Clerk