Voting extended by a day in City of Kawartha Lakes

Voting in the City of Kawartha Lakes municipal election has been extended by one day.

The city says that due to the volume of voters casting electronic ballots on Monday evening, the system continues to run slower than expected.

To allow all eligible voters to cast their ballot, the City of Kawartha Lakes has extended its voting one full day until Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m.

The city says the voting system was provided by Dominion Voting Systems. The company stated it experienced a “90-minute slowdown and resulting bandwidth issue caused a varying number of voters to experience slow response times and system time-outs.”

The city says since the slowdown, more than 2,000 voters have successfully cast their ballots, bringing the total number of votes more than 24,000.

“By extending the voting period a full 24 hours, everyone will have an opportunity to vote in daylight hours or after work today,” stated Cathie Ritchie, city clerk, on Tuesday morning.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "By extending the voting period a full 24 hours, everyone will have an opportunity to vote in daylight hours or after work today," stated Cathie Ritchie, city clerk, on Tuesday morning.

“The call volumes during the slowdown period were unprecedented, with over 600 calls to our help line. With this many people having trouble, we knew it was necessary to extend the election. We are reaching out to voters and encouraging anyone who hasn’t voted to do so today.”

Electors who have already voted can confirm whether their vote has been successfully cast by attempting to vote a second time using their voter ID and PIN numbers on their Voting PIN Letters. The voting system will notify users whether they have successfully cast their ballot or not.

These are the locations with voting assistance open on Tuesday, Oct. 23:
• City Hall, 26 Francis St., Lindsay, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Bobcaygeon Service Centre, 123 East St. S., from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Coboconk Service Centre, 9 Grandy Rd., from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Lindsay Service Centre, 180 Kent St. W., from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Omemee Service Centre, 1 King St. W., from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Election results will be shared on the City’s website shortly after 8 p.m.

Electors who have already voted can confirm if their vote has been successfully cast by attempting to vote a second time using their Voter ID and PIN numbers on their Voting
PIN Letters. The voting system will notify you if you have successfully cast your ballot or not.

Locations with voting assistance on Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• City Hall, 26 Francis Street, Lindsay
• Bobcaygeon Service Centre, 123 East Street South
• Coboconk Service Centre, 9 Grandy Road
• Lindsay Service Centre, 180 Kent Street West
• Omemee Service Centre, 1 King Street West