The City of Woodstock is adding online voting as another method for residents to cast their ballot in the upcoming municipal election, joining more than 200 other municipalities in Ontario.
Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione said the motion for such a voting method has happened before, but after the city saw just about 27 per cent vote in the 2022 election, a change needed to be made.
“It was evident that we had to make it more inclusive for everybody,” he said in an interview with Global News. “We had to have a way that more people could vote and I believe a hybrid system of voting would be better for everybody and make it a better process.”
Acchione said the city will be implementing a hybrid option, meaning people can still vote in person by paper ballot or do so by phone or online.
He said this gives people time to vote from their own home, while away on holiday or on a break between shifts; Woodstock is home to a Toyota assembly plant and Acchione noted many residents work at the company with varying shifts that could make it more difficult to vote.
Woodstock is not the first municipality to implement online voting in Ontario. In fact, more than 200 of the province’s 444 municipalities use online voting often alongside in-person and phone voting.
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According to the Association of Municipalities Ontario, communities vary in how they use it.
Some, like Kawartha Lakes, have gotten rid of paper ballots completely, with people voting online at home or using an electronic touchscreen in person. Others, like Kingston, allow for online voting, but paper ballots are used in person.
Although half of the municipalities have signed on to online voting, the other half include some of the province’s biggest cities: Toronto, Windsor, Hamilton and Ottawa.
In the case of Hamilton, cybersecurity was a prominent concern following a cyberattack that occurred in 2024. Last July, council voted against city staff’s recommendation to offer online voting for various reasons, Mayor Andrea Horwath said in an email to Global News.
“I believe strongly in making it as easy as possible for Hamiltonians to participate in our democratic process and ensuring residents have every available opportunity to cast their ballot in municipal elections,” she said. “Council considered online voting and decided not to implement it for the upcoming municipal election due to concerns around security, election integrity, and public confidence.”
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward, who also chairs Ontario’s Big City Mayors, said she recognizes concerns about cybersecurity in online voting.
But as mayor of one of the first cities to implement the option, she said it’s about putting the proper security measures in place.
In the case of Burlington, residents receive a voter card with a dedicated number. They can then go to the city’s online voting portal, enter the code and fill out information to verify their identity, including date of birth and other private information. From there, they receive a second dedicated code to their email address that allows them to go back in and vote.
“It’s not as easy as just going online and clicking ‘yes,’ or picking the name,” Meed Ward said. “There are some checks and balances.”
Meed Ward added, however, that while giving the option of online voting is a good tool, her city has not seen a change in voter turnout, as it’s primarily those who are already motivated to vote that use it.
As this will be Woodstock’s first time using online voting, Acchione said he’s hopeful it will spur more people to vote so the public can ensure people who will work on the changes they want to see are elected.
“We’re trying to get rid of as many barriers as we can to ensure everybody has the opportunity to have their say,” he said. “I don’t believe somebody should just be able to write it out on Facebook and make sure it’s a complaint, your opportunity is to vote, to learn what candidates would best represent you and vote for them.”
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