(Photo: File)
The Mayor of Quinte West isn’t pleased with initial plans to reduce the number of polling stations in the city for next year’s municipal election.
A report from Clerk Kevin Heath suggests dropping the number of polling stations from 18 down to 11.
Heath says the idea is to increase online voting, by having three weeks of advance polling leading up to the election and by opening the library so that people can vote online there, if they don’t have a computer at home.
Mayor Jim Harrison noted that only 2,100 eligible voters used the online service in the last election and that lots of people still like to physically cast their ballots on election day.
Councillor Dave McCue had also pushed for a poll to be located north of Wooler, to make it easier for rural residents to cast their votes.
Heath says he’ll take those suggestions into account and will be bringing a final polling station proposal back to council in the near future.
