Internet, phone, mail-in or in-person: voting methods differ in Windsor-Essex

Election day is fast approaching, and how you cast your ballot willdependon where you live.

The method of voting available in municipal elections across Windsor-Essex depends on the municipality.

The traditional method of voting in-person with paper ballots is offered in some municipalities, but some have pursued other options.

Internet voting, phone voting and mail-in ballots are options for voters in certain municipalities.

Online and phone voting

Only two municipalities use online voting as part of their election process: Tecumseh and LaSalle.

With this option, voters are mailed a voter information letter thatincludes a PIN voters use to cast their vote online or over the phone.

This system has no specific election day because it features an 11-day voting period. Ballots can be cast starting Oct. 14 until the polls close at 8 p.m. on Oct. 24.

Despite voting being available earlier, Jennifer Alexander, the acting clerk for Tecumseh,said people still vote on election day itself.

"I think it's because everywhere is voting, regardless of what municipality you're in, and I think most people remember on that day, 'this is the day we need to vote,' but it is nice to have the option of having 10 days to vote," Alexander said. "It allows people to do it on their own time because it's convenient, it's fast, and it's accessible to everyone."

"We have noticed that there is an increase in voter turnout as a result."

Accessibility to voting

Some voters may not be particularly comfortable with online or phone voting. In Leamington, a significant number of voters went to the municipal building for in-person assistance four years ago, a spokesperson for the town said.

Leamington's town council didn'tto see a similar instance occur, so they have switched to mail-in ballots this year. No in-person voting has been held there since 1998.

LISTEN |CBC Windsor's Peter Duck walks through the voting options in Windsor-Essex municipalities:

Kingsville is also employing a vote-by-mail system. This is the second municipal election in a row the municipality isdoing this.The town clerk likes it.

"There's no barriers to [voters] getting to a polling location, so it just kind of eliminates those concerns for the community," said Paula Parker. "It also provides them with ample opportunity to vote."

In-person voting

In an interesting twist, Lakeshore is returning to in-person voting after the last five elections featured mail-in voting. Brianna Couglin, deputy clerk for Lakeshore, saidit was a political decision taken by the town's council.

"It is quite labour-intensive," she said. "We were actually proposing internet and telephone voting. However, it is council's decision and we're very happy to undertake what council wants. In terms of the feedback that we have received so far, it's been mixed, whether or not people are enjoying being back in person and going to the voting locations."

Other municipalities offeringin-person voting are Windsor, Amherstburg and Essex.

Combining voting methods

Some municipalities outside Windsor-Essex are combining in-person voting with another option to give residents more chances to vote.

One of them, Chatham-Kent, is employing internet voting, advance in-person voting at six locations, traditional in-person voting stations on election day and have even set up a vote van that is heading to six additional locations. Despite the bevy of options, Chatham-Kent Clerk Judy Smith is unsure if it will increase voter turnout.

"The last three elections, it's increased a little bit," she said. "However, each time, it depends on the types of races that we're having, if there's anybody acclaimed, the weather, etcetera. There's lots of different variables when we're looking at voter turnout, but we are hoping that our numbers increase."

Regarding the lack of consistency in voting methods from municipality to municipality, Alexander saidit is up to each municipality's council.

"Would it be easier on us clerks to have everyone casting their vote using the same method? Of course," she said. "However, what happens in one community can be very different [depending] on the needs of another community."