Markham wins municipal innovation award for pioneering digital democracy

Markham was Canada’s 1st municipality to vote online since 2003

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 28, 2023
Yoyo Yan

The City of Markham has been honoured with the prestigious Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award for its groundbreaking contributions to digital democracy.

Presented at the 2023 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference, Aug. 22 in London, Ont., the award recognizes Markham’s commitment to modernizing the electoral process.

Markham was Canada’s first municipality to vote online, delivering an online voting program for six consecutive municipal elections since 2003. The 2022 municipal election, however, posed unique challenges, including voter fatigue, pandemic-related disruptions, supply chain pressures and concerns about election administration integrity.

In response, Markham harnessed cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), to enhance service delivery and foster trust in next-generation voting systems.

“By leveraging technology, including online registration for voters and candidates, Markham is breaking down barriers to participation in local democracy,” said Andy Taylor, the city’s chief administrative officer.

In addition to the City of Markham, two other municipalities received plaque awards: the Municipality of Middlesex County for its transition to a fully automated, completely paperless e-permitting system for building services, and the City of Vaughan for its AI-based approach to managing local roads.