A rookie HRM councillor is calling for an end to online voting, but a couple of his vetrean colleagues would prefer to focus on how to make the system better. Coun. Waye Mason of District 7 told the CBC this week that since public turnout wasn’t any higher with a web system, the municipality should focus on traditional ballot boxes. “I’m not ready to say ‘let’s scrap’ the e-voting,” Distirct 8 Coun. Jennifer Watts told Metro on Thursday in response to Mason’s comments.
“I think it was quite positive for residents that used that,” she said, adding that parents with busy schedules, or seniors, liked the ease of casting their vote online or phoning it in. Watts said she’d like to analyze the cost difference between staffing more polling booths and keeping the online system.
“I’m not sure we need the full 10 days of e-voting,” Watts said, adding five or six days should be enough before the official election day. “I think that might help focus people to vote more. It’s not like ‘Oh, I’ve got these long two weeks.’” Watts said.
Full Article: Councillors want e-voting analyzed, question cost, length | Metro.