City aims to modernize municipal elections through partnership, new processes & technology
The City of Saskatoon is aiming to modernize and enhance how it conducts future municipal elections having presented a decision report to the Governance & Priorities Committee on May 17, 2023. Recent amendments to The Local Government Election Act, 2015 (LGEA) provide clarity to permit municipalities greater use of various tools, namely with regards to voters lists and partnerships available with other entities, particularly Elections Saskatchewan.
“With the next municipal election officially scheduled for November 2024, planning is well underway to provide a more efficient voting process for residents,” says Adam Tittemore, City Clerk. “There’s been a continued shift in voter behaviour, notably the greater use of advance polls and mail-in ballots. Considering lessons learned from the 2020 election and best practices from other jurisdictions, we’re committed to adopting new practices and technology to create a smoother, faster and secure voter experience starting in 2024.”
A partnership with Elections Saskatchewan will be key to many of the proposed election improvements, including sharing data, establishing a municipal voters list, sharing election technology, and delivering vote-by-mail services. With respect to sharing data, pending Council endorsement, the City would enter into a formal information-sharing agreement where it would receive voter data which Elections Saskatchewan already owns and curates, to be used for the creation of the voters list. Partnerships with Elections Saskatchewan will help reduce the cost of conducting elections and, in cases such as the acquisition of voter data, come at no cost to the City.
“The legislative ability to enter into this agreement is included in the LGEA, along with the ability to use this information to create a voters list, rather than going through an enumeration process,” adds Tittemore. “The partnership is imperative in achieving our modernization goals and results in financial savings.”
City Administration has also undertaken a procurement process with election technology solution providers to use an election management system (EMS). Cloud-based applications will allow the City to more efficiently operate the election and increase the service and security level for candidates and voters. This technology is intended to be used for the 2024 election in some form to help manage an electronic voters list, mail-in ballot application and fulfilment, candidate portal, voting location management, etc.
The EMS technology and associated hardware, including all listed modules and fulfillment of mail-in ballots, is expected to come at a cost of approximately $102,000. This cost will be offset by fewer poll workers required, savings on printing and supplies, and staff time and resources associated with a more efficient election administration.
The City is committed to protecting the integrity of the voting process, providing a faster and more efficient voter experience at the polls, and an easier way to verify identity for alternative voting formats such as mail-in ballots.