Municipal electoral reforms slated for 2018 - ballot choices

NRU
March 2, 2016
By Leah Wong

With consultations on the Municipal Elections Act complete, the provincial government is expected to recommend changes this spring that could change how voters select their local representatives in 2018.

One expected reform is an option for municipalities to use ranked ballots which, in contrast to the current system, permits voters to rank their choices in order of preference. In a mandate letter from Premier Kathleen Wynne, municipal affairs and housing minister Ted McMeekin was asked to review the act and introduce ranked ballots by the 2018 municipal election.

As part of the consultation, the province set up a working group of municipal clerks, academics, voting technology experts and a representative from the Association of Municipalities in Ontario. Last week MAH local government and planning policy division assistant deputy minister Kate Manson-Smith told the Ontario Good Roads Association and Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference that the working group considered ballot design, the number of permissible rankings and the implications of voting technology on the proposed reform.

“[This group] is helping the government to strike the right approach to ballot consistency across the province with flexibility for individual municipalities to implement a ranked ballot election,” said Manson-Smith.

Such flexibility is important given the distinct nature of Ontario municipalities, said Unlock Democracy Canada creative director Dave Meslin.

“Every city and every municipality in Ontario is completely different,” Meslin told participants. “What the province needs to do in order for those unique [characteristics] to be reflected, is to give municipalities options and let councils decide what works best for each municipality.”

Meslin said the use of ranked ballots would ensure that the winning candidate is supported by the majority of electors, reduces negative campaigning and eliminates strategic voting.

While there are benefits to voters listing their preferred candidates, City of Guelph city clerk Stephen O’Brien cautioned that municipalities will have to consider a number of clerical issues if they opt for a different voting system.

“I want an elector to go in, be presented with a ballot and be confident in knowing how they’re going to mark that ballot and how that ballot will be treated in counting the votes,” said O’Brien. He said municipalities will have to consider issues such as voting technology, the timing of significant election dates and how the public is educated before implementing ranked ballot voting.

O’Brien said there needs to be sufficient time between nomination day and voting day to give municipal clerks time to test the layout of ranked ballots. For example, he said there could be more tabulation issues with a ranked ballot, particularly if it is used in elections where voters choose more than one representative at a time.