While people in Ottawa are still voting at polling places or mailing in their ballots during municipal election time, many nearby towns are opting for online voting.
Cornwall, Ont., is allowing its voters to choose between voting in-person or online for the first time this year, after seeing a voter turnout of just 28 percent in the 2022 municipal election.
The aim is to increase participation, especially among younger voters and seniors, by making it easier to vote, according to Denise Labelle-Gelinas, who leads elections for the city.
“You can vote anywhere in the world as long as you have your PIN number, your date of birth and a Wi-Fi connection,” she said.
In the first five days of Cornwall’s internet voting period, over 1,300 votes were processed.
Regarding any security worries: Labelle-Gelinas mentioned that the city can track users’ IP addresses accessing the voting portal and can deactivate personal identification numbers to prevent fraud.
“The PIN number has to connect with the date of birth of the individual or you can’t get through the system,” she said.
For the first time ever, voters in Cornwall, Ont., will be able to cast their 2026 municipal election ballots online if they want to. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
Many other eastern Ontario towns like Belleville, Brockville, Carleton Place, Clarence-Rockland, Pembroke and Renfrew have also embraced internet voting according to information from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
In Kingston, Ont., online voting has been available since 2014 as a way to make things more accessible according to city clerk Janet Jaynes.
Having both online and paper ballots has “reshaped the landscape of elections” in Kingston says Jaynes.
“Regardless of overall voter turnout, more people are choosing to vote online instead of in person,” Jaynes noted.
No provincial standards
Even with available security measures, Ottawa has no plans for an online voting system according to city officials.
Most municipal elections in Ottawa have been decided by votes cast in-person; mail-in options were introduced only recently in 2022.
A report presented to the finance and corporate services committee earlier this year advised against adopting internet voting for 2026 due to Ottawa’s larger size compared with neighboring municipalities.
“There are currently no provincial standards that exist for certifying online voting systems auditing or verifying results that are produced,” said that report which also pointed out there is no method for recounting ballots or qualifying voter lists.
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