Staff
In June of last year, Meaford’s Council approved the use of Electronic Voting (Telephone/Internet) for the 2014 Municipal and School Board Elections that will be held between October 17-27, 2014.
Vote-by-mail has been used in the municipality since amalgamation. In preparation for the 2014 Municipal Election, the Legislative Services Department investigated voting methods to ensure value for money and integrity of the voting process.
Robert Tremblay, Director of Legislative Services/Clerk serves as the Returning Officer and stated, “This voting method is the most cost effective option and allows for greater accessibility, convenience and participation.”
With electronic voting, electors can vote anytime and anyplace, by telephone, hand held device, tablet or personal computer. Voter help centres will be set up during the 11 day voting period to assist residents confirm they are on the voters’ list and access the internet should they need it.
A Request for Proposal was issued for Telephone/Internet Voting Services with Dominion Voting being the successful bidder. Dominion is a Canadian company with extensive experience in providing a fully integrated election service to each of their clients, which includes fully integrated accessible voting solutions to allow all voters to exercise their democratic franchise with independence and privacy.
Two public information sessions will be held in September and October and information is available on meafordvotes.ca. Facts sheets are provided explaining how the voting method and system is accessible, convenient, easy, efficient and secure.
