Hub Staff

During a December 12 meeting, Saugeen Shores Council passed a by-law that will see only electronic and telephone voting used during the 2018 municipal and school board elections versus the previous mail-in ballot system

Mayor Mike Smith believes that this will increase voter turnout and allow voters to have more time to consider who to vote for. “There will be a longer campaign period and a better opportunity for candidates to get out,” said Smith.

Regarding the advanced time it would take to receive mail-in ballots in the past, he added, “the campaign was over basically as soon as the ballots went out, because they thought people probably voted in those one to two days and sent it back in.” 

Smith said that more and more municipalities are looking into voting electronically but Town Clerk Linda White has not chosen a specific company at this time.

Deputy Mayor Luke Charbonneau voted against the by-law as he had previously stated that the idea made him nervous and that he didn’t see a cost benefit for taxpayers or voters to switch from mail-in ballots to the new system.

See: Paper ballots could become a thing of the past

“You’re putting a lot of trust into some third party out there that won’t show you what’s behind the curtain,” said Charbonneau.

It was suggested that there will be help kiosks set up at various locations throughout Saugeen Shores, such as town office, retirement and long-term care facilities as well as libraries.