North Bay moves to online-only voting for 2026

North Bay moves to online-only voting this fall after city council approval, citing lower costs and 70% digital uptake in 2022.

Candidates for municipal councils and school boards have begun filing nomination papers for the fall election, and while voting day is months away, preparations are already underway.

In North Bay, voters will only be able to cast their ballots online after city council voted to approve the change to how residents will vote.

It will be the first time the city has attempted an online-only method, following a hybrid model trial run that combined online and in-person voting during the 2022 election.

‘It went really well’

Coun. Chris Mayne said the previous hybrid experience was positive.

“It went really well. They were happy with the results that came in,” he said, adding officials were confident in those results.

“It’s a sign of the times,” Mayne said.

A presentation to council last year from city clerk Karen McIsaac outlined the cost savings of the online-only approach. Running electronic-only voting would $150,000, while an in-person vote with paper ballots would be double that price and a hybrid election, offering both options, would total up to $350,000.

Data from 2022 found that 70 per cent of the vote was completed online.

Help stations available

McIsaac told council there will be 10 days of online-only advance voting and a super poll set up on election day. During the voting period, people will be able to vote using their own devices at home or at an in-person help location in the city.

Mayne said support will be available for those who need it.

“There will still be polling stations with staff to help you understand what you’re doing, what needs to be done to walk you through the process as far as or up to the point where you actually cast your vote,” he said.

However, Maureen Bruce-Payne, board chair of the North Bay Golden Age Club, said she fears for seniors who do not have devices at home.

“They don’t have computers and they’re going to be forced into having somebody help them,” she said.

Bruce-Payne said the change could deter older voters from participating.

“I know, for here, it’s going to be a hardship for a lot of people,” she said.

‘The key to the success of such is implementation’

Royal Military College Saint-Jean political science professor Ian Parenteau told CTV News that one downside of online voting is that municipal election officers often lack the expertise to collect the information gathered by private software companies.

“They have the vendors that provide those services and they have to trust that what they say is a truth,” he said.

“The key to the success of such is implementation,” Parenteau added.

He also pointed to broader concerns about trust in Western democracies, which has been on the decline for the last decade amid rising polarization and disinformation on social media.

Parenteau said this is a worry if voters do not feel they are able to “trust the system.”

Nevertheless, he expects more smaller Canadian cities and towns will eventually adopt online voting.

“The systems that have been developed over the years are more robust,” said.

“So, we have more experience.”

Mayne acknowledged concerns about security but expressed confidence in the safeguards.

“Everyone is extremely sensitive to hackers and potential for fraud,” said the city councillor.

“It is something that’s monitored in extreme detail. If they didn’t have 100 per cent confidence in the software they were using, they would not use it.”

Key dates

Nominations close Aug. 21 at 2 p.m., while the voters’ list becomes available Sept. 1. Third-party advertiser registration closes Oct. 23, three days before voting day. Election day is set for Oct. 26. The election results are scheduled to be declared Oct. 27, with the new term of office beginning Nov. 15.

Other municipalities have adopted different voting models. In Sudbury, voters will have the option of voting online or in-person at an advance polling location, or by voting online or in-person at a ballot location on election day. In Timmins, there will be a hybrid option with advance voting done online and in-person voting on election day.

The vote will be conducted only in-person in Sault Ste. Marie, with tabulators and a register-to-vote by mail option. The period to apply to vote by special mail-in ballot will open in the fall, according to the city’s website. Huntsville, Bracebridge and Gravenhurst – known as the ‘Muskoka Group’ – will have online voting only.

North Bay officials are encouraging voters to make sure their information is up to date before ballots are cast this fall by visiting the Register To Vote webpage to update any information that may not be current, including residence, mailing address, spelling of name, date of birth and school board support.