Quinte West City Council received a report from the city clerk regarding feedback from the 2022 municipal election at its council meeting on Wednesday.
The report is a combination of summarized feedback from the city’s post-election public survey that ran from November 10 to December 5, 2022 as well as a series of confidential interviews with members of council from July 5 to August 16, 2023.
A total of eight councillors took part in the interviews.
The purpose of the interviews, according to the clerk, was to allow for an “honest and forthcoming discussion” about how councillors and voters experienced and participated in the election as well as to show elections staff that the municipality takes the feedback from candidates and voters seriously to help improve future elections.
The report brought back multiple points of feedback including the method of voting used during the election as well as how information about the candidates themselves was presented to the public.
During the 2022 election, the City of Quinte West implemented a completely online voting system.
City clerk Josh Machesney outlined the following challenges presented to him regarding the voting method.
- Concerns with a lack of transparency/clarity about the decision to authorize online voting
- Some residents were upset that there was not a paper ballot voting option
- Not all residents have access to the internet
- Not all residents know how to vote online
- Not all residents have computers
- Some unspecified negative feedback was received from residents about online voting
Machesney stated in his report that he would be bringing a detailed report to council in the first quarter of 2025 which will recommend the use of a hybrid voting method that would include paper ballots and internet voting.
In addition, Machesney said he would explore the possibility of holding a special council meeting to address the voting method and to allow residents to give their voice on how they would vote in the 2026 election.
Also brought up to the clerk was how information about the candidates was brought to the public.
The following challenges were outlined to the clerk.
- Concerns with a perceived lack of candidate/general election coverage by the media
- Some residents were unable to find information about candidates and their platforms
- Concerns about a lack of cohesive discussions amongst candidates about important issues
- Concerns about a lack of candidate debates, “meet the candidate nights,” etc. where residents can get to know candidates and learn about their platforms
- Concerns about a lack of opportunities to promote or attract new candidates.
In his report, Machesney said the issue presented a complex challenge to elections staff as they balance impartiality with the public’s need for relevant information regarding a candidate.
He said that staff will work with the Corporate Communications and Community Engagement office to explore different communication strategies to help share candidate information to voters.
The idea of hosting local debates and “meet the candidates” events would also be explored.
A total of eight categories regarding the 2022 election were explored in Machesney’s report including the following:
- Voter Registration
- Voters List
- Voting Method
- Help Centres, Voting Locations and Polling Locations
- Election Sign By-law
- Use of Corporate Resources Policy
- Candidate Information/ Information about Candidates
- General Election Communications
A link to the full report can be found here.