Electronic voting in Canada
Encyclopedia
It is a common misconception that there is no electronic voting
in Canada
. While the federal elections still use paper ballots, electronic voting technology has been used since at least the 1990s at the municipal level in some cities, and there are increasing efforts in a few areas to introduce it at a provincial level. Some municipalities provide Internet voting as an option.
There are no Canadian electronic voting standards.
This governing law is the Canada Elections Act
.
As of this writing, the Act is c. 9, assented to (made law) 31 May 2000.
It has a provision
PART 2 CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER AND STAFF
Electronic voting process
18.1 The Chief Electoral Officer may carry out studies on voting, including studies respecting alternative voting means, and may devise and test an electronic voting process for future use in a general election or a by-election. Such a process may not be used for an official vote without the prior approval of the committees of the Senate
and of the House of Commons
that normally consider electoral matters.
hopes to test web voting by 2013, beginning with a byelection. "The general philosophy is to take the ballot box to the voter," says Mayrand, Canada's chief electoral officer
.'
Elections Canada has released a report requesting approval to conduct an "electronic voting test-run in a byelection by 2013".
s and standards.
Alberta Bill 7 includes provisions for the examination of "new technology in casting ballots, including the possibility of voting over the Internet".
released a report (in French only) "Report on the Evaluation of New Methods of Voting". In a press release, three root causes of problems with electronic voting machines in the 2005 municipal elections were identified:
He recommended that the current moratorium on the use of these systems be maintained, and leaves it up to the provincial legislature
to decide whether or not to use electronic voting in future.
released a report "Access, Integrity and Participation: Towards Responsive Electoral Processes for Ontario" which advocates the exploration of alternative (non-paper) voting channels, as well as other automated processes. To this end, he has issued two opportunities (requests for proposals): "Alternative Voting Methods - Pilot Application" and "Automated Voter Recording System".
The Democratic Renewal Secretariat of Ontario has election reform as part of its mandate. Their site states "we’ll examine whether and how to modernize our voting process, use technology better, and make it easier to vote."
's chief electoral officer is reviewing the possibility of using electronic voting machines on a wide basis."
.
offered touch-screen voting machines for advance voting in 2004.
held municipal elections
in 2005. Numerous problems were reported with the voting machines used, and Pierre Bourque
of Vision Montreal
called for some re-votes. Approximately one year later, the Quebec Chief Electoral Officer released a report highly critical of the systems and processes used.
In the Huntsville, Ontario
election there was Internet voting provided by Canadian company Intelivote. Canada's Minister of Industry Tony Clement
tweeted "Just voted in my municipality's election, online. Very convenient." There was an error in sending some of the PINs out by postal mail; as a result, replacement PINs were mailed out.
South Stormont, Ontario
provided Internet and telephone voting in addition to traditional paper ballots.
In Ottawa, Ontario votes are counted on optical mark-sense readers.
Arnprior, Ontario
provided Internet and telephone voting and was forced to extend voting by a further 24 hours due to problems with people logging in to the Intelivote system. The issue was traced to a hardware failure of one of the servers due to higher than expected load.
offered touch-screen voting machines for advance voting in 2006 supplied by Diebold Election Systems, now Premiere Election Solutions.
Since 1988, the City of St. Catharines has been using optical scan voting technology for tabulating votes during the Municipal Elections.
The Ottawa municipal elections have used optical scan machines since 2003.
Peterborough
, Ontario
introduced Internet voting in 2006 in addition to the more traditional methods.
Markham
, Ontario
introduced an Internet voting system in 2003 The system was supplied by US company Election Systems & Software
at a cost of $25,000. In 2006, Markham again used Internet voting and experienced a 48% growth in online voting.
Jonathon Hollins, Canadian director of Election Systems & Software reports that "Voting on standalone touch-screen machines (Direct Recording Electronics), ... which also caters to the visually-impaired through an audio ballot, has been used in municipal elections held in Toronto
,
Edmonton, and the Ontario cities of Vaughan
, Brantford, Oakville
and Mississauga.
Windsor, Ontario
used touch-screen balloting in a 2002 by-election and in the 2003 Ontario Municipal Election
, but only at their advance polls.
A 2000 year-end report from Global Election Systems (formerly called Diebold Election Systems and now called Premier Election Solutions) states "Global reports add-on sales of 60 AccuVote systems to the City of Ottawa
and 70 to the City of Hamilton
as well as first-time sales of 60 AccuVote-TS systems to the City of Barrie
".
, New Brunswick
used optical scanning machines in the 2004 municipal election.
, residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality had the option of advance voting over the Internet. Voters received a PIN in a letter sent specifically in their name to their address, and needed the PIN plus their date of birth to identify themselves to the system.
Electronic voting
Electronic voting is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. While the federal elections still use paper ballots, electronic voting technology has been used since at least the 1990s at the municipal level in some cities, and there are increasing efforts in a few areas to introduce it at a provincial level. Some municipalities provide Internet voting as an option.
There are no Canadian electronic voting standards.
Federal
For national elections, there is a uniform set of standards for voting.This governing law is the Canada Elections Act
Canada Elections Act
Canada Elections Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada respecting the election of members of parliament to the Canadian House of Commons, repealing other Acts relating to elections and making consequential amendments to other Acts....
.
As of this writing, the Act is c. 9, assented to (made law) 31 May 2000.
It has a provision
PART 2 CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER AND STAFF
Electronic voting process
18.1 The Chief Electoral Officer may carry out studies on voting, including studies respecting alternative voting means, and may devise and test an electronic voting process for future use in a general election or a by-election. Such a process may not be used for an official vote without the prior approval of the committees of the Senate
Canadian Senate
The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...
and of the House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
that normally consider electoral matters.
Federal Initiative to Increase Voter Turnout
It is reported that 'Elections CanadaElections Canada
Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. Its ongoing responsibility is to ensure that Canadians can exercise their choices in federal elections and referenda through an open and impartial process...
hopes to test web voting by 2013, beginning with a byelection. "The general philosophy is to take the ballot box to the voter," says Mayrand, Canada's chief electoral officer
Chief Electoral Officer (Canada)
The Chief Electoral Officer is the person responsible for overseeing elections in Canada.The position of Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act. The Chief Electoral Officer is appointed by a resolution of the Canadian House of Commons...
.'
Elections Canada has released a report requesting approval to conduct an "electronic voting test-run in a byelection by 2013".
Federal Dialogue on Internet Voting
On January 26, 2010 Elections Canada in conjunction with partners organised The Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue (Strategic Knowledge Cluster) - Internet Voting: What Can Canada Learn? Examples of Internet voting from Europe and from Canadian municipalities were presented. Presentations are available at http://www.carleton.ca/europecluster/events/2010-01-26-InternetVotingWorkshop.htmlProvincial
Each province can choose its own voting machineVoting machine
Voting machines are the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment , that is used to define ballots; to cast and count votes; to report or display election results; and to maintain and produce any audit trail information...
s and standards.
Alberta
The VOTEX system was used in several municipalities throughout Alberta in October 2007.Alberta Bill 7 includes provisions for the examination of "new technology in casting ballots, including the possibility of voting over the Internet".
Quebec
On October 24, 2006 the Chief Electoral Officer of QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
released a report (in French only) "Report on the Evaluation of New Methods of Voting". In a press release, three root causes of problems with electronic voting machines in the 2005 municipal elections were identified:
- an imprecise legislative and administrative framework
- absence of technical specifications, norms and standards
- poor management of voting systems (especially lack of security measures)
He recommended that the current moratorium on the use of these systems be maintained, and leaves it up to the provincial legislature
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
to decide whether or not to use electronic voting in future.
Ontario
In September, 2004 the Chief Election Officer of OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
released a report "Access, Integrity and Participation: Towards Responsive Electoral Processes for Ontario" which advocates the exploration of alternative (non-paper) voting channels, as well as other automated processes. To this end, he has issued two opportunities (requests for proposals): "Alternative Voting Methods - Pilot Application" and "Automated Voter Recording System".
The Democratic Renewal Secretariat of Ontario has election reform as part of its mandate. Their site states "we’ll examine whether and how to modernize our voting process, use technology better, and make it easier to vote."
New Brunswick
It was reported in the Globe and Mail on May 13, 2004 that "New BrunswickNew Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
's chief electoral officer is reviewing the possibility of using electronic voting machines on a wide basis."
Municipal
Each municipality can choose its own voting machines and standards, although in some provinces municipalities are required to follow provincial standards and regulations. For more information about the elections themselves, see Municipal elections in CanadaMunicipal elections in Canada
Municipal elections in Canada fall within the jurisdiction of the various provinces and territories. Therefore, they occur on different dates, depending on which province they are in. However, municipalities in the same province will usually have their elections on the same day...
.
Alberta
Edmonton, AlbertaAlberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
offered touch-screen voting machines for advance voting in 2004.
Quebec
QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
held municipal elections
Quebec municipal elections, 2005
The Canadian province of Quebec held municipal elections in its municipalities on November 6, 2005.The municipalities in Quebec for the 2005 election were different than the previous 2001 election, as many municipalities have voted to de-amalgamate....
in 2005. Numerous problems were reported with the voting machines used, and Pierre Bourque
Pierre Bourque (politician)
Pierre Bourque, CQ is a businessman and politician in Quebec, Canada. He founded the Vision Montreal political party and served as mayor of Montreal from 1994 to 2001.-Background:...
of Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal
Vision Montreal is a municipal political party in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has been in existence since 1994 and presently forms the Official opposition on Montreal City Council under leader Louise Harel.-Origins:...
called for some re-votes. Approximately one year later, the Quebec Chief Electoral Officer released a report highly critical of the systems and processes used.
2010 Municipal Elections
CTV reports that 33 municipalities used the Intelivote Internet and telephone voting system. "The online and telephone voting system was used by 33 municipalities, causing several problems across the region." Arnprior, Ontario ended their voting period by 24 hours due to the problems. Other municipalities extended their voting period by one hour.In the Huntsville, Ontario
Huntsville, Ontario
Huntsville is a town in the Muskoka Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located north of Toronto and south of North Bay....
election there was Internet voting provided by Canadian company Intelivote. Canada's Minister of Industry Tony Clement
Tony Clement
Tony Peter Clement, PC, MP is a Canadian federal politician, President of the Treasury Board, Minister for the Federal Economic Initiative for Northern Ontario and member of the Conservative Party of Canada....
tweeted "Just voted in my municipality's election, online. Very convenient." There was an error in sending some of the PINs out by postal mail; as a result, replacement PINs were mailed out.
South Stormont, Ontario
South Stormont, Ontario
South Stormont is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. The township was incorporated on January 1, 1998, by amalgamating the former geographic townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck....
provided Internet and telephone voting in addition to traditional paper ballots.
In Ottawa, Ontario votes are counted on optical mark-sense readers.
Arnprior, Ontario
Arnprior, Ontario
Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Madawaska River, as it enters the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
provided Internet and telephone voting and was forced to extend voting by a further 24 hours due to problems with people logging in to the Intelivote system. The issue was traced to a hardware failure of one of the servers due to higher than expected load.
Previous Elections
In an effort to address accessibility issues Kingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
offered touch-screen voting machines for advance voting in 2006 supplied by Diebold Election Systems, now Premiere Election Solutions.
Since 1988, the City of St. Catharines has been using optical scan voting technology for tabulating votes during the Municipal Elections.
The Ottawa municipal elections have used optical scan machines since 2003.
Peterborough
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
introduced Internet voting in 2006 in addition to the more traditional methods.
Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
introduced an Internet voting system in 2003 The system was supplied by US company Election Systems & Software
Election Systems & Software
Election Systems & Software is an American company that provides voting services.ES&S is a subsidiary of McCarthy Group, LLC, which is jointly held by the holding firm and the Omaha World-Herald Company, the publisher of Nebraska's largest newspaper. As of 2007 it was the largest manufacturer of...
at a cost of $25,000. In 2006, Markham again used Internet voting and experienced a 48% growth in online voting.
Jonathon Hollins, Canadian director of Election Systems & Software reports that "Voting on standalone touch-screen machines (Direct Recording Electronics), ... which also caters to the visually-impaired through an audio ballot, has been used in municipal elections held in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
,
Edmonton, and the Ontario cities of Vaughan
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
, Brantford, Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
and Mississauga.
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
used touch-screen balloting in a 2002 by-election and in the 2003 Ontario Municipal Election
Ontario municipal elections, 2003
In the 2003 municipal elections in Ontario, voters in Ontario, Canada, elected mayors, councillors, school board trustees and all other elected officials in all of Ontario's municipalities.-Results of election:...
, but only at their advance polls.
A 2000 year-end report from Global Election Systems (formerly called Diebold Election Systems and now called Premier Election Solutions) states "Global reports add-on sales of 60 AccuVote systems to the City of Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and 70 to the City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
as well as first-time sales of 60 AccuVote-TS systems to the City of Barrie
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...
".
New Brunswick
Saint JohnSaint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
used optical scanning machines in the 2004 municipal election.
Nova Scotia
In the Halifax Regional Municipality municipal election, 2008Halifax Regional Municipality municipal election, 2008
Halifax Regional Municipality municipal election, 2008The Halifax Regional Municipality is governed by a mayor and a twenty-three person council, who are elected by geographic district; municipal elections occur every four years...
, residents of the Halifax Regional Municipality had the option of advance voting over the Internet. Voters received a PIN in a letter sent specifically in their name to their address, and needed the PIN plus their date of birth to identify themselves to the system.
Canadian Elections
- Edmonton Vote 2004 > Advance Vote (in archive.org)
Reports, Articles, Blogs
- Rapport d'évaluation des nouveaux mécanismes de votation Directeur général des élections du Québec
- Access, Integrity and Participation: Towards Responsive Electoral Processes for Ontario (Word doc)
- Vote Tabulation Machine Use in the City of Saint John Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Government of New Brunswick
- Ontario Democratic Renewal Secretariat
- Global Election Announces (2000) Year-End System Sales; Increased Revenues
- Returning Officer's - Report Regarding (Halifax Regional Municipality)’s E-voting Advanced Poll October 24, 2008
- Paper Vote Canada a blog about electronic voting issues in Canada