THUNDER BAY - For grade 12 student, Sarah Kajorinne, this year will mark the first time she gets to vote in a provincial or municipal election and have her voice heard.
“I’m very excited because I’ve never been into or intrigued by politics,” Kajorinne said. “But now that I’m 18 I get to understand a little bit more about the politics in our city and learn more and explore more about the politics we have in Thunder Bay.”
Kajorinne and her fellow classmates at Sir Winston Churchill High School will get a sneak peek at how voting is changing in the city of Thunder Bay by using the new online voting system to choose the valedictorian who will speak on behalf of the last graduating class.
“I think its good practice,” Kajorinne said. “Now they can do the voting online in the city and we will now know how to do it. It’s very handy. It’s very cool to be able to do it so easily on your device.”
John Hannam provided the graduating class with a quick lesson on how online voting will work in the upcoming municipal election.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase the software that we will be using in October for the municipal election and engage with the young people, many of whom will be voters for us come the fall,” he said.
The system that will be used was developed by Intelivote, Canadian-based online voting company in Halifax. Hannam said the system is ready to go and in order to ensure security of voting, the municipal election will be audited by a company before, during, and after the election.
Kajorinne is one of the nominees for class valedictorian and she said online voting may entice more young voters to become involved in the city’s political landscape.
“I think it’s a good idea, especially for people in my generation and people who are like me because they might feel more inclined to vote now,” she said. “I would be voting regardless, but some people might feel more intrigued to vote now that they can do it so easily on their device.”
Hannam said he does not know if the online voting system will get more young people out to the polls, but it has shown to increase voter turnout in general.
“Initially when internet voting first started about 15 years ago that was the thought, that it would draw younger voters,” he said. “That overall hasn’t been the case. In recent elections there has been indications that it has moved all age groups up.”
For the young voters out there who will be casting a ballot in their first election, whether online or not, the importance of participating in the process is not lost.
“Now that I can actually put my voice out there and contribute to the changes that are made in the city, I am now more interested in how I can change it positively and how my vote will actually change the direction the city goes in,” Kajorinne said.
Online voting in the 2018 municipal election will open with advanced polls on Oct. 9 and run 24 hours a day, seven days a week until Oct. 22.
