This fall’s municipal election in Kingston will be unlike any of the previous votes.
The city has made a number of significant improvements designed to encourage voter turnout while reducing voter frustration at the ballot box. Some of the changes stem from election night troubles in 2014. City councillors launched a review of the voting process following complaints about polling station lineups that left some people unable to vote, and lengthy delays in posting the results on election night.
“The experience was unfortunate,” remarked Coun. Mary Rita Holland, following the 2014 vote.
Determined to improve the “elector experience,” city clerk and returning officer John Bolognone unveiled a series of enhancements for the upcoming vote in October where Kingston voters will choose a mayor and 12 district councillors. School board trustees will also be elected.
Six key changes include:
- Electors can vote at any of the polling stations in their district
- An extended internet voting period from Oct. 13 to voting day Oct. 22
- Free transit on advance voting day and voting day for those who show a voter information notice
- Six deputy returning/revision officers at each polling station, instead of five in 2014
- Improvements to the voters’ list
- Remote uploading of election results from each polling station on voting day
Councillors approved the changes earlier this year. The enhancements are expected to cost an extra $750,000 over and above the regular municipal election budget.
Some of the improvements – such as extended internet voting and “vote anywhere in the district” – were already tried with success in a 2017 byelection in Countryside district, according to Bolognone.
Another key change that worked well in the 2017 byelection, according to staff, was that results from the three polling stations in Countryside were transmitted remotely and the unofficial results were posted by 8:15 pm.
“For the 2018 election, technology will be used at the voting places, which will allow the election results to be uploaded remotely to the city’s secure server. This will contribute to the timelier posting of the unofficial election results,” said Bolognone.
He says some polling stations were very busy in 2014 and, as a result, “some electors experienced longer wait times, particularly between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.”
The need for election night revisions to the voters’ list contributed to the longer wait times due to the paperwork and data entry that was required before the elector could receive a ballot. About 33 per cent of the electors on voting day required revisions to the list, he added.
There was also frustration among voters and candidates waiting for the results. The first unofficial election results were not posted until 11:44 p.m. election night, nearly four hours after the polls had closed.
Whether it’s online or in line, Bolognone says the voter experience this fall should be smoother.
The city is currently recruiting people to work at more than two dozen district polling stations.
“We need people with strong computer and customer service skills,” according to Janet Jaynes, assistant returning officer.
The deadline to apply is Friday, Sept. 7.
The positions offer the following rates of pay (the training session is included in this fee):
- Site supervisors – $249 per day
- Deputy returning officer – $225 per day
- Machine operators – $200 per day
- Greeters/demonstrators – $200 per day
The city says polls will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on advance voting day Saturday, Oct. 13 and again on voting day Monday, Oct. 22.
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