Toronto studies letting disabled people vote online

Internet voting would likely boost turnout for Oct. 27 municipal election, but city report says it should be available to all

Toronto Star
January 20, 2014
By Paul Moloney

Toronto is working on a system to let people with disabilities vote over the Internet, but members of the disabled community are urging the city to provide that option to all eligible voters.

“There’s no reason to create a system just for people with disabilities,” said John Rae, a board member of ARCH Disability Law Centre.

“If we’re going to start Internet voting, it should be available to all citizens,” said Rae, who is blind.

City council in June requested a system be implemented in time for the Oct. 27 elections. The city consulted members of the disabled community and is now reviewing responses to its request for proposals.

At consultations last October, members of the disabled community supported making Internet voting available to all, eliminating potential problems with determining who is disabled, Rae said.

City elections staff say that every Canadian jurisdiction with Internet voting provides it for all voters. In 2003, Markham became the first major municipality in Canada to experiment with Internet voting. A study showed it has helped increase turnout by 35 per cent.

“If council chooses to authorize Internet voting, it should be available to all electors without singling out certain individuals as this could result in basic human rights violations,” a Toronto city staff report said.

Internet voting for all would also likely increase voter participation in municipal elections. Traditionally, only a third or so of eligible voters cast ballots.

“The level of participation among electors is embarrassingly low at the municipal level,” Rae said. “For many people, the idea of being able to vote over the Internet would encourage more electors to participate. I think that’s something we should encourage in a democracy.”

A wider voter turnout would force city councillors to focus on broadening their appeal to include, for example, younger citizens more likely to cast Internet ballots, said Councillor Shelley Carroll.

“Generally speaking, voters start voting in their late 20s and start with a federal election,” Carroll said. “They work their way to voting municipally somewhere in their late 30s, and that’s sad.”

Internet voting would raise turnout and broaden the age range, and politicians would have to take note, she said.

“It would no longer be possible for politicians to say, ‘I’m going to engage with the people I easily relate to and hope the others don’t make it to the polls.’ We as councillors would be engaging all ages, all cultures.”

Others were more cautious.

While increasing participation is a worthy goal, Councillor David Shiner said he’s concerned about voter fraud.

“The concern with Internet voting is knowing who’s really on the other end,” said Shiner. “I’m really concerned about abuses.”

Shiner doesn’t think traditional voting at a polling place isn’t that onerous since it’s usually only a short walk.

“Making a small effort to get out to a polling station isn’t too much to ask,” said Shiner, chair of council’s government management committee.

The possibility that some who aren’t disabled may use the Internet to vote isn’t a huge concern, said Councillor Adam Vaughan, chair of the disability issues committee.

“If 300 people without disabilities vote over the Internet and that’s the biggest problem we have, who cares?” Vaughan said. “They’re legally entitled to vote, they don’t have a disability but they cast their ballot through the Internet. So what? What’s the problem?”

Councillor Paul Ainslie said he sees Internet voting for disabled as a pilot project leading eventually to Internet voting for all.

How Internet voting for disabled could work:

- Elector visits registration website or calls elections office. If not on voters’ list, elector completes a form to be added. Must provide name, address, birth date, contact information.

- City sends out an elector ID number and registration information. Electors must declare that they’re qualified to vote and have a disability.

- Once registered, the city sends a secure PIN. Elector visits registration website, enters PIN and creates a password.

- When voting begins, the elector can log on to the website using ID and password. Elector votes and the system verifies the selection.

- Vote is issued a receipt, ballot is encrypted and stored. After voting has closed, ballots are decrypted, counted and the results reported.