Belleville Council is moving ahead with looking at getting rid of paper ballots when the next election rolls around next year.
Council approved a report from Clerk Matt MacDonald that suggests moving towards online and telephone voting in 2022, joining the 194 municipalities across the province who did that in the last election.
All eligible voters would be mailed an information card that includes a PIN number and gives them the option to dial in to vote via telephone, or to cast a ballot through their computer, smart phone, or tablet.
There would still be a small number of in-person polls, though anyone voting there would still cast their ballot by using a tablet.
The city would also continue to run “roving polls” to the city’s long term care and retirement homes, to allow those residents to vote with help and not have to go to a polling station.
MacDonald’s report estimates it will cost between $80,000 and $115,000 to operate an election with those methods, plus other administration costs, with an estimated total of between $235,000 and $270,000.
The city will now take public input on the plan, before a final decision is made, with the issue set to come back to the table in April.
