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Toronto Sun
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Low-tech vote: Why does Elections Canada use paper ballots and hand-counting?
Before the federal election, Elections Canada says paper ballots provide the best "efficiency and security." Voters line up at an advance polling station in Vancouver, where paper ballots are marked in pencil or pen and then hand-counted. Photo by Jason Payne / PNG As more provinces and cities use electronic tabulators to speed up vote counts, Elections Canada has opted to stick with a low-tech method before the federal election: The hand count. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account This came as a surprise to some people voting at advance polls in B.C., where tabulators were used for the first time during October's provincial election. Poll workers handed out ballots while fielding comments about voting technology. While Elections Canada has studied the issue, and recognizes automatic ballot-counting machines are 'successfully and securely used in some other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world,' there are several reasons it hasn't made the switch — at least, not yet. James Hale, B.C. media spokesman for Elections Canada, said the use of paper ballots and hand-counting at polling stations remains the best approach because of its 'efficiency and security.' Elections Canada will continue to study the issue and report 'any significant findings' to Parliament so it can make decisions about how Canadians vote in federal elections, he said. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Postmedia News spoke to several experts about what might be behind Elections Canada's decision to continue with a system that some find 'old-fashioned:' A 'paper trail' There is a big difference between electronic tabulators and electronic voting machines — both of which are in use in various democracies around the world, said Chris Tenove, an instructor and research associate at the University of B.C.'s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. While tabulators, which were used in B.C. for the first time in October, simply count paper votes, some electronic voting machines don't provide a paper record. Tenove said a 'paper trail' is important as it provides a concrete record of a person's vote and can be used in judicial recounts, which are typically done by hand. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the U.S., electronic voting was seen as a solution to the problem of 'hanging chads' in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. In the close contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore, election officials were focused on the tiny pieces of paper that sometimes remained attached to ballots by punch-card voting machines. The controversy caused some U.S. states to move to paperless 'direct recording electronic machines.' But the technology created a new set of headaches for election officials. Fears about hacking and false claims of voter fraud quickly eroded trust in the system. From about 2000 onward, paperless voting has decreased in popularity. According to a Reuters report, only about seven per cent of U.S. voters in 2022 voted using electronic machines, down from 22 per cent in 2016. About 70 per cent of U.S. voters hand-marked their ballots in 2022, which were counted using an electronic scanner. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tenove said election integrity must exist, but it also has to be 'believed in.' While electronic tabulators can make counting faster and more efficient without sacrificing the paper record, it seems 'we're not quite there yet as a public.' The best way to 'maintain trust' Elections Canada may not be focused solely on the security of voting technology in its decision to maintain hand-counting, said Heidi Tworek, a professor of history and public policy at UBC. It may also be looking at how to ensure people trust the integrity of Canada's voting system. 'Hand-counting appears to be the best way to maintain trust in the federal election,' she said. But Tworek said even paper voting can be used by those who wish to 'inject distrust,' pointing to recent posts on X encouraging people to bring a pen to their polling station to avoid the possibility of ballot tampering. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Elections Canada has dismissed the claim that a ballot marked in pencil could be smudged or erased. Poll workers are required by law to provide voters with black-lead pencils, but a pen is allowed as well. Tworek said hand-counting provides a simple, transparent way for candidates or their agents to observe the counting process. Before the count, election workers close the doors of the voting place, according to Elections Canada. No one is allowed to enter or leave. The counter counts the number of electors who voted, the number of spoiled ballots and unused ballots. Then each ballot is unfolded and the name marked on it is read aloud for everyone to hear. Staff tally up the votes, which are then recorded in a computer program that securely sends the information to Elections Canada's main office. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Tworek said the 'old-fashioned' hand-count, observed by scrutineers of all political stripes, remains a good way to maintain trust. 'Healthy vigilance' is key Tenove said 'healthy vigilance' has created a strong voting system in Canada. 'Our system is solid because people were skeptical over the years and looked for ways people could cheat and dealt with them,' he said. Aleksander Essex, an associate professor of software engineering at Western University in London, Ont., said it might be more helpful to ask why provinces have adopted voting technology, rather than why Elections Canada has not. 'Election Canada's method is the baseline,' he said Essex said arguments that technology might help cut costs or be easier to administer are secondary to the question of whether it would provide a better way of furthering democratic goals. He said if Elections Canada decided to move to online voting in the future, which might further democracy by make voting more accessible to everyone, it would likely require billions of dollars in infrastructure to make the system secure from cyberattacks. With paper ballots and hand-counting, there is 'less place for things to go seriously wrong.' gluymes@ Read More Sports Canada Sunshine Girls Columnists World
Vancouver Sun
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Vancouver Sun
Low-tech vote: Why does Elections Canada use paper ballots and hand-counting?
Article content As more provinces and cities use electronic tabulators to speed up vote counts, Elections Canada has opted to stick with a low-tech method before the federal election: The hand count. Article content Article content This came as a surprise to some people voting at advance polls in B.C., where tabulators were used for the first time during October's provincial election. Poll workers handed out ballots while fielding comments about voting technology. Article content Article content While Elections Canada has studied the issue, and recognizes automatic ballot-counting machines are 'successfully and securely used in some other jurisdictions in Canada and around the world,' there are several reasons it hasn't made the switch — at least, not yet. Article content Article content James Hale, B.C. media spokesman for Elections Canada, said the use of paper ballots and hand-counting at polling stations remains the best approach because of its 'efficiency and security.' Article content Elections Canada will continue to study the issue and report 'any significant findings' to Parliament so it can make decisions about how Canadians vote in federal elections, he said. Article content Article content A 'paper trail' Article content Article content There is a big difference between electronic tabulators and electronic voting machines — both of which are in use in various democracies around the world, said Chris Tenove, an instructor and research associate at the University of B.C.'s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Article content While tabulators, which were used in B.C. for the first time in October, simply count paper votes, some electronic voting machines don't provide a paper record. Article content Tenove said a 'paper trail' is important as it provides a concrete record of a person's vote and can be used in judicial recounts, which are typically done by hand. Article content In the U.S., electronic voting was seen as a solution to the problem of 'hanging chads' in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. In the close contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore, election officials were focused on the tiny pieces of paper that sometimes remained attached to ballots by punch-card voting machines. The controversy caused some U.S. states to move to paperless 'direct recording electronic machines.'
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal Election 2025 advance voting starts today: Hours, locations and more
Get in, Canada. We're heading to the polls. Advance voting for the 2025 federal election begins today on April 18, 2025. Here's what you need to know and some resources to read before making your decision at the polls. • Voting in Canada's 2025 federal election: What you need to know • Federal Election 2025: 12 hot topics and where each party stands • Federal election 2025: Who's running in my riding? Advance voting takes place on: • Friday, April 18 • Saturday, April 19 • Sunday, April 20, or • Monday, April 21 Voting stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on each of those days. If you're in line before 9 p.m., you'll be permitted to vote. You should have received a voter information card in the mail by now. That card will list where you can go to vote on advance voting days. If you haven't received a voter information card, you can find your advance voting station using Elections Canada's voter information service. Look up your advance voting station online here. Unlike the provincial election, rules for the federal election are different and you must vote at your assigned advance voting station. According to Elections Canada, this is due to the sheer number of voters in a federal election and the need to keep things organized and to ensure there is no vote duplication taking place. 'With a much smaller number of potential electors, a province like B.C. can cross-check between polling places, so that by sharing information it ensures the integrity of the vote: one vote per person,' said James Hale, Elections Canada spokesperson. 'Given the multiple time zones and hundreds of polling places, that would be very challenging to do on a national basis.' If it's more convenient or if you can't make it to your assigned voting station on advance voting days or on election day, you can vote at any Elections Canada office up until 6 p.m. on April 22. There are about 500 Elections Canada offices open and you can find them here. However, if you vote at an Elections Canada office, you'll be using a special ballot process with blank spaces to write in names, whereas the ballot at your assigned voting station will have the actual list of candidates in your riding. According to Elections Canada, peak times for voting — that is, when the lines will be longest — is between 10 a.m. to noon. From 1 to 4 p.m., it's still busy but less so. The best times to vote are in the mornings before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. No. Did you know that taking a photo of your completed ballot (or someone else's) is considered illegal? According to Elections Canada, 'it violates the secrecy of the vote under the Canada Elections Act.' It's also a violation to post a photo of a completed ballot in any way, including on social media. If you want to post photographic proof of having done your civic duty and you don't want to spoil your vote, just take a photo of yourself outside the voting station or with your 'I just voted' sticker instead. sip@ Federal Election 2025: Who won the French-language leaders' debate? Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre to join other leaders for only English election debate | Live video and discussion
