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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCD-37-01 -" ~~ . '- ~ ! -: .' .J ~ ~ THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: Date: General Purpose and Administration Committee File # ('1) 7 Res. #?/YI- '51!-':; / June 18, 2001 Report #: Subject: CD-37-01 2000 MUNICIPAL ELECTION - VOTE BY MAIL By-law # Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended: THAT Report CD-37-01 be received for information. BACKGROUND AND COMMENT: With the adoption of Report CD-15-00 in March 2000, Council approved the use of the "Vote-By-Mail" method of conducting the November 2000 municipal election. The Townships of Brock, Uxbridge and Scugog also approved this method of voting, therefore, the four municipalities worked very closely in conducting their elections. The three main benefits of using vote by mail were identified as follows: . Increased voter turnout . Decrease in costs to the municipality . Convenience for the electors The results of each of these issues are addressed below: . Voter Turnout Voter turnout for the last three elections in Clarington has been: . 1997 - 28 Percent . 1994 - 34 Percent . 1991 - 39 Percent 833 v ! : t' -~ Report CD-37-01 - 2 - June 18, 2001 For the 2000 municipal election, using vote by mail, the voter turnout was 41.5 percent (20,513 ballots cast out of a possible 49,483 eligible electors). This is an increase of 48.2 percent over the 1997 election. Note that this increase is also contributable, in part, to the mayoralty race that was taking place. . SavinQs Report CD-15-00 identified cost savings of approximately $25,000. In fact, the savings realized by the municipality were $13,299. The variance in the projected and actual savings was in large part because of the need to hire additional staff during the period leading up to voting day. This staff was receiving the mail, updating the voters' lists to indicate who had voted, and sorting the secrecy envelopes into the various ward ballot boxes. Because of the large number of returns received, it was necessary for the Clerk's Department to hire temporary help to assist with this process. . Convenience for Electors Many electors commented that the vote by mail process was easy to understand and was a very convenient way to cast their ballot. The positive responses were received from seniors and parents with young children who did not have to worry about attending at a voting station, individuals who were going to be on vacation during voting day and employees who didn't have to worry about getting time away from work to attend at a voting station. The fact that electors completed the ballots in their own homes meant that they didn't need to be concerned with the issue of accessibility at the voting stations. There were some electors who questioned the integrity of the process, however, once the process of separating the voter declaration form and secrecy envelopes was explained, their minds were put at ease. Following voting day, meetings were held with the Townships of Scugog, Brock and Uxbridge to address the entire election process and to identify areas of improvement for the process in the future. Canada Post also hosted meetings with representatives of municipalities across the province who utilized the vote by mail process. Many similarities were found in each municipality, as follows: 834 i'''' ,r ". ,"' Report CD-37-01 - 3- June 18,2001 -. Election Night Process We were unprepared for the number of electors who chose to vote at the Ballot Return Station (Municipal Administrative Centre) on voting day. Most of these electors had to be issued a replacement "ballot kit" for various reasons. Many had either not received a kit (as they were not included on the voters list), had destroyed or lost the kit, or left it at home as they thought they could not use it after the November 3 mail-in deadline. Proposed Solution It was agreed that we may have to consider hiring additional staff for future vote by mail elections, both to handle the process upon receiving the mail-in ballots and to issue ballot kits to electors who did not receive kits for one reason or another. As well, in future vote by mail elections, having a ballot return station in each ward will be given consideration, rather than only one for the entire municipality. . CountinglTabulation Centres The four Durham Region municipalities using the vote by mail organized their tabulation centres identical to one another. We found that the centres worked well and provided the Returning Officer with better control over the process than having the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) and Poll Clerks completing the count at individual polling stations across the municipality. As with any hand counting of ballots, the process is quite slow. The final tabulation of votes was completed around midnight, which is similar to previous "traditional" elections. Some of the municipalities experienced difficulty with scrutineers at the counting centre, however, that was not the case in Clarington. Proposed Solution In order to speed up the process of the count, the hiring of more staff would be considered. . Timing Many municipalities across the province that used vote by mail raised concerns with the timing of the vote by mail process in that it shortens the campaign period for the candidates by one to two weeks. Electors were asked to have their ballots in the mail by November 3 to ensure delivery to the ballot return station by 8:00 p,m. on voting day. Candidates were finding that as they went door-to-door to campaign in the two weeks prior to voting day, electors had already cast their ballots. With Nomination Day being October 13, this only left three weeks for campaigning, all-candidates' meetings, etc. 835 of. h " ~ ' Report CD-37-01 -4- June 18, 2001 Proposed Solution Amendments to the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 would be required to alter the timeframes. Municipal clerks have made their views known to the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) and discussions are being held between the AMCTO Elections Committee and the Province in this regard. . Electors Receiving More Than One Ballot Kit Because some electors own more than one property in a municipality, they received a ballot kit for each property. Although the instructions explained this and implicitly stated that it is an offence to cast more than one ballot in anyone municipality, many concerns were received regarding the receipt of more than one ballot kit. Because an elector's name appears for each property, an elector will be listed as many times as property is owned, rented or occupied. When conducting the elections by the "traditional" method, the voters' list is divided into numerous polls. If someone wanted to, they could attend at the polling station for one property, cast their ballot and then attend at another polling station where they know they are on the voters' list and cast another ballot. The vote by mail makes it much easier for election staff to determine if an elector has over-voted because the voters' list is broken down only by ward. The declaration signed by the elector states they have not already voted in the municipality. Should it be questioned as to whether someone has over-voted, the elector's signature is available for comparison purposes. The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 places the onus on the elector to ensure they have voted in accordance with the Act. Possible Solution Canada Post is reviewing, in conjunction with AMCTO and municipal clerks, the wording of the instructions included with the ballot kit to ensure the section outlining the requirement that each elector votes only once is clear and easily understood. . Ballot Kits Concern was raised that the ballot kit received by the elector was easily mistaken for "junk mail". Canada Post has also been made aware of other concerns with the kits, ie, font size, wording on envelopes, envelope sizes, etc. 836 ~' h ~~. / Report CD-37-01 - 5- June 18,2001 Possible Solution Canada Post has heard all of the concerns and will be reviewing and correcting the issues prior to the 2003 municipal election. . Ballots Because the same template was used for the ballots in all municipalities, some ballots appeared sparse due to the smaller number of offices included on the ballot. Font size was identified as being too small and concern was raised over the ease in which the ballots could be photocopied. Possible Solution Suggestions have been offered regarding the appearance of the ballot and Canada Post will review the cost impacts of using watermarked paper so the ballot cannot be copied. Election officials have advised Canada Post that they would be prepared to pay extra costs in order to ensure that the ballot cannot be copied. Canada Post is also investigating the use of coloured paper to make the ballot stand out from the rest of the kit. One of the major concerns with the election was the voters' list which was prepared by the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC). This concern was shared by all municipalities, not only those who used the vote by mail process. The major complaint heard from electors was the fact that individuals were still listed even though applications for removal of the person had been filed in previous elections. On May 31,2001, a meeting was held with representatives of all eight Durham Region municipalities and OPAC. OPAC advised that the amendments which were filed during the 1997 municipal election were not processed because OPAC was undergoing a major reorganization at the time and did not have the staff resources to handle the amendments. They assured us that the amendments filed for the 2000 election will be processed and, in fact, most have already been completed. Another matter raised with the vote by mail was the fact that in some apartment buildings, ballot kits were left in a general area where anyone could have access to them. We did discuss this matter with Canada Post at the time of the election and will continue to address the issue with them and superintendents of the buildings in future vote by mail elections. The difficulty arises because tenants of these buildings can change quite frequently. OPAC is dealing with this issue through the use of a tenancy questionnaire which landlords are required to provide by July 31 each year. The timing and method of collection of the data is being reviewed by OPAC. 837 < i- ~ - . . Report CD-37-01 - 6 - June 18, 2001 ~ A controversial issue arose during the election process when several yellow return envelopes were given to two candidates in error, This practice was stopped immediately upon it being brought to our attention. It did not affect the election process or outcome. Recommendation The vote by mail system met our expectations and goals in that voter turnout was increased, election costs were decreased and many electors stated that they appreciated the convenience of being able to cast their ballot by mail. As with any new procedure, there were some concerns to be addressed throughout the process. On the whole, however, it is felt that the vote by mail process was a success. The vote by mail system was utilized by 71 municipalities in the Province for the 2000 municipal election, an increase from 20 municipalities in 1997. Canada Post is working diligently to address the areas of concern and to continue improvements on the system for upcoming elections. Presently, the vote by mail system cannot be utilized with automatic vote tabulators. It is becoming evident, given the size of the Municipality of Clarington, that a hand count is becoming too difficult and time consuming to be an effective way of conducting a municipal election. Discussions are taking place between Canada Post and the manufacturers of the automatic vote tabulators in an attempt to marry the two systems in time for the 2003 municipal election, Until it is determined whether the systems can be integrated or not, staff is not prepared to make a recommendation on the method to be used for the 2003 election. Accordingly, it is recommended that this report be received for information. Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by, '\ I d ~_-e-U~ Franklin Wu, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Chief Administrative Officer 838