THUNDER BAY -- While most on city council support the idea of electronic voting in the next election, they want administration to do its homework before making a decision.
Some councillors who turned the idea down last term said delays and long lines at polling stations during the last municipal election had made them change their minds when it was brought up Monday night.
Coun. Iain Angus' idea would see the city vote by internet and telephone along with traditional paper ballots if people wanted them. He said not only might it increase voter turnout but also came to council with several letters of support from advocacy groups for peopel with disabilities saying an electronic system would improve access.
"In a lot of ways it's removing barriers," he said.
But Coun. Trevor Giertuga said he wants to see a report from city clerk John Hannam for council's benefit, including newcomers Coun. Frank Pullia and Coun. Shelby Ch'ng. He wasn't in favour of the idea before but has changed his mind.
"I don’t want to do this as a knee jerk reaction based on frustration from the last election,” he said.
Ch'ng said council shouldn't turn down the idea of electronic voting because it fears change. More than 95 municipalities in Ontario voted electronically in the last municipal election. Thunder Bay is already behind the times.
"I'm sure that people were scared of carrier pigeons when they came out too," she said.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto agreed that the city should look at what other cities are doing. He voted against the idea in 2013 but after seeing frustration during the last few elections, the city needs to get its vote online. While council agreed to refer the idea to administration, he wanted them to vote on it right there.
"We're going to find something new when we do our research?" he asked.
But others weren't so eager.
Coun. Joe Viridramo has issues with privacy, saying that the vote is there forever on the device you use and could be susceptible to hackers.
"It's not private," he said. "They hacked Canada Revenue, they can hack this."
But if the report comes back with the right information, Virdiramo said it could sway his decision.
Former Current River candidate Andy Wolff brought his concerns to council, which he'd done the last time electronic voting was discussed. It will be hard to tell who's actually casting the vote with a certain PIN number. He also wondered whether it would save the city money.
"Is this going to be something that costs more than we have bargained for?” he said.
People have the right to decide how they vote and need to be educated and make an informed decision before council agrees to anything he said.
SHIFT president Peter Marchl said people already bank and shop online. Electronic voting would bring the city into the 21 st century while hopefully increasing voter turnout and engaging the city's youth in the process.
"It's clear there is a culture of support for electronic voting," he said.
A report is coming back in the new year.
NOTE TO READERS: This version corrects an earlier story that inaccurately indicated a person received two PIN numbers during the Shuniah municipal election.
