Markham shoots down ranked ballot option for 2018 election

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 23, 2017
By Amanda Persico

There will be no ranked ballot in Markham for the 2018 municipal election.

Last summer, the province revised the Municipal Elections Act to include a ranked ballot option for municipalities.

But Markham councillors said the new system is too confusing.

“I’ve never heard a complaint about our election system,” said Coun. Valerie Burke.

“If anything, it should be as simplistic as possible.”

If a municipality opted to run ranked ballot election, it would have to be available for every political office, except for school board trustees.

In Markham, that would mean a ranked ballot system for mayor, regional councillors and ward councillors.

To further complicate the issue, both mayor and ward councillors would be single-candidate elections and the regional post would be a multi-candidate election - two different systems.
“My concern is how we would explain this to residents,” said regional councillor and deputy mayor Jack Heath.

There was also concern about updating election technology such as tabulators, with municipalities having to look outside Canada for vendors and the costs associated remain unknown.
Not to mention, election results would take longer than the current system - days longer and a recount just as long.

The issue will be finalized at the next council meeting.