Municipal election voters see change even before ballots are counted

Morning North7:30It's voting day

We get a preview of what voting day will be like today from clerks in three northeastern municipalities.

It is election day in cities, towns and townships across Ontario and in Greater Sudbury, no matter who wins, it will be an election like none other.

For the first time, voters don't have to go to a specific polling station today. They can cast a ballot at any of 25 locations.

That is about half as many polling stations as the last election, with none in some urban neighbourhoods or in outlying communities like Wahnapitae or Falconbridge.

City Clerk Caroline Hallsworth said those changes came along with the switch to internet voting.

"We need to change the whole election. So if you're going to go into an internet vote, you're changing everything to do with the election."

That was partly because staff wanted to stay within the $800,000 election budget. Fewer staff members and less equipment at polling stations means money was freed up to experiment with an online system.

There are still many small towns across northeastern Ontario that uses a vote by mail system, however.

French River chief administrative officer and clerk Sabastien Goyer said the envelopes have been piling up for weeks now.

A few elections ago, there were some candidates charged with fraud in French River.

But Goyer said he stands by the mail system.

"There's not one system that is fraud proof. And for me, I think it would be safer that method of voting than voting by internet."

There were some signs of trouble with that online voting system in Greater Sudbury last week, including someone who was able to vote twice, but Hallsworth said she remains confident in e-democracy.

"Everything we know is that online voting is a safe and secure method of casting your vote."

Meanwhile, this is the first election with mail in ballots for the township of Cockburn Island.

The isolated island off the western end of Manitoulin has only one permanent resident, but about 160 tax payers.

Clerk Brent St. Denis said, in the past, when voting day fell within hunting season, citizens would vote in person on the island.

He says the campaign is also very unusual on Cockburn Island.

"Every candidate is entitled to have, as in everywhere in Ontario, a voter list. And they can track them down, write them letters and phone them up."

Municipal election polls close at 8 p.m. tonight.