THUNDER BAY -- A committee of city staff will meet next week to review two proposals, one for electronic and telephone voting and another for vote tabulators.
City clerk John Hannam said the request for proposal deadline was Friday. Part of the process includes bringing vendors in for a demonstration.
"Over the next few weeks we'll conduct an evaluation and reach a decision," he said.
"Depending on the dollar value that might require going to council."
Companies tend to base their bids on a city's voter list, with it costing around 75 cents to a dollar per voter. Thunder Bay has around 82,000 eligible voters.
Electronic voting for municipal elections isn’t new in Ontario as several cities and towns have ran previous elections with an electronic option.
During the most recent municipal election in October of 2014, the municipality of Shuniah conducted its election with a completely paperless ballot. Voters had the option to either vote online or by telephone.
Adopting similar options for local voters became a more serious discussion after the City of Thunder Bay faced significant issues and delays in the reporting of its election results on election night.
