Municipal elections are just nine months away and, perhaps not surprisingly, electronic voting has been a recent subject of discussion for local councils.
Truro Town Council received a pitch from a Halifax-based company lauding the virtues of electronic voting and tabled it for further discussion. Colchester County Council, meanwhile, rejected the idea outright. At the risk of sounding ridiculously old-fashioned, we concur with the go-slow or no-go approach to electronic voting. At least for the time being.
Undeniably, there are potential benefits – no lineups, potential increase in voter participation, environmentally friendly because less people would drive to the polls, to name three. “It’s proactive,” says Truro Coun. Greg MacArthur. And he’s right.
Electronic voting might even save money by reducing the number of polling stations required but the company setting up the system has to be paid so let’s call this one even. On the downside, however, is the fear that no backup plan exists should something go wrong with the electronic voting system and that older, less computer literate voters might stay home if polling stations were not conveniently located.
Full Article: Not ready for electronic voting – Editorials – Truro Daily News.