Feature Article October 30, 2002
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Voting in Municipal Elections
What? Municipal elections are a year away! Why are you writing about them now? Well, the townships need to establish the voting procedure they will follow. And it is time to do so. Last time our local townships used mail-in voting, but not all the townships have confirmed that will be the process in the future.
Formerly, townships had used a proxy system. That process was fine years ago when there were very few non-resident voters. One member of the family could vote for everyone else. However, they could only hold the proxy for one person who was not a member of the family. Now, more of our eligible voters do not live in the local area. Under the proxy system it was extremely difficult for those people to vote. Each had to find a different individual to carry their proxyand the process to register the proxy was extremely cumbersome.
Eighty percent of the eligible voters in North Frontenac live outside the local area. The first time the township used mail-in voting the turnout rose from 28 to 37%, and that percentage increased to 50% for the last election. The township clerk expressed the view that this was the most equitable procedure for their constituents and was confident the township would use mail-in voting again.
South Frontenac Township has a lower percentage of non-resident voters, but the number differs significantly by district. Overall about 35% of the voters are non-resident, but almost 80% of those in the Bedford District live outside the area. After the last election, South Frontenac Council said they would reconsider the procedure before the next election. Gordon Burns, the Township Clerk/Administrator, is awaiting a cost estimate from Canada Post before making a report to council. He expects that information in early November.
Central Frontenac Township passed a by-law establishing mail-in voting as the election procedure, and the council recently reconfirmed that it will use that process in the next election. Susan Freeman, Deputy Mayor of Tay Valley Township, is confident the township will confirm that it will use mail-in voting again. She expressed the view that mail-in voting is the most equitable procedure for their constituents. Freeman also said that the township has been budgeting for this for two years.
The next election is only a year away. It is time for each of our townships to confirm the voting procedure that will be followed. Mail-in voting should be used, as it is equitable and essential for our non-resident voters. As of this writing, South Frontenac appears to be the only township where this issue is uncertain. No matter where you live, I encourage you to contact your councillors and urge them to support mail-in voting.
