Advance polls going electronic in HRM
Posted Sep 28, 2011 06:00:57 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
City staff hope to get as much as 45 per cent of voters to voting electronically in the next municipal election.
Council has voted to make advance polls electronic only, meaning ballots can be cast by phone or computer, for the election in october 2012.
HRM clerk Cathy Mallet says the plan that’s been adopted strikes the best balance.
“We think the option presented presents the best accessibility, both on the electronic voting side and for in-person polls throughout the region on ordinary polling day,” she told councillors Tuesday.
Mallet says a campaign will be underway to ensure voters are up to date on the possibilities.
“A municipal election official’s job is to make sure that the election is well advertised and understood,” she said. “We did quite an extensive elections campaign in 2008 and we’ll continue to do that through all forms of media to ensure that voters know what their options are and what’s available to them.”
Voters who want to cast a ballot with a pencil and paper can still do so at one of 71 polling locations on election day.
