The city’s auditor general has submitted 50 recommendations for improving municipal elections in Hamilton, Ont.
Charles Brown’s action plan is in response to a series of missteps and challenges that arose during and prior to the 2022 election.
At the top of the list were problems with voter’s list accuracy, the delayed mail-out of voter notification cards, and technology problems that hampered the opening of 12 polls resulting in extended hours at those locations.
Brown also said the vote-by-mail initiative encountered a privacy breach that affected 167 individuals within a mass email.
“The breach could have been avoided with dedicated software for email marketing,” Brown told the General Issues Committee on Wednesday, “or in the absence of that, having stronger oversight before mass emails are sent out.”
Some of Brown’s fixes include adjusting delivery times for vote-by-mail packages, better informing candidates of application requirements, improving contingency procedures in case of technology failures and having IT security teams review procurement of technology services.
“While the technology issue was unprecedented,” said Brown, “we noted that there could have been more rigorous protocols in place to deal with the situation.”
Brown also suggested reaching out to the province to advocate for voting day to be held when schools are not in session to address concerns about public entry when students are in class.
The city clerk is expected to report back to the Office of the Auditor General by September with a detailed plan for responding to the report.
Close to $2.7 million was spent by the city on last fall’s election which saw voters select a new mayor and nine new councillors.
About 35 per cent of the city’s residents cast a ballot on Oct. 24, equating to 143,375 out of the 405,288 eligible voters in Hamilton.
The election featured 91 individuals who signed on in an attempt to become a voice in council, including nine mayoral hopefuls that sought to succeed former mayor Fred Eisenberger — who said in June 2022 he would not be seeking re-election.