The municipal election is still about eight months away, but planning for voters to choose their mayor, city councilors and school board trustees is already well underway.
Emma Vokes, Brantford’s supervisor of licensing, admin services and elections, and Keaton Scarff, election assistant, said in a report to council that city clerk staff has started the selection of voting locations, voting hours and voting methods.
“Municipal and school board elections are complex projects that require significant resources and advanced, detailed planning in order to adhere to legislative requirements and meet the needs of both candidates and electors,” said the report.
Election day is set for Oct.24, but city residents will have lots of time before that to vote.
In the last municipal election in 2018, just 38 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots. That election saw Kevin Davis wins a decisive victory for mayor. Davis, ahead in the polls from the outset, defeated incumbent mayor Chris Friel, who was seeking his sixth term in office, by more than 5,600 votes. All eight incumbent councilors seeking re-election were voted back in.
A lot has changed over the past three years, with the World Health Organization declaring the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11, 2020, which continues to impact people locally and around the globe. And city council has been at the center of some polarizing issues, among them the sale of the former Arrowdale Municipal Golf Course and the ensuing legal action initiated by a group opposing that decision. From early October to the end of December last year, the golf course property was occupied by a group of Indigenous protesters.
At a recent city council meeting, Coun. Dan McCreary said local politicians have “taken a lot of heat about the democratic process” and urged constituents to take note of the key dates leading up to the municipal election. Among them are:
- May 2 – Appointment period begins.
- Aug. 19 at 2 pm – Appointment period ends.
- Oct. 3 – Online voting begins and will be offered until the closing of polls on election day.
- Oct. 24 – Election day.
- Nov. 15, 2022 to Nov. 15, 2026 – Term of office.
Plans are to launch online voting on Oct. 3 at 10 am and have it continue until the polls close at 8 pm on Oct. 24. Advance polls are planned to run from Oct. 12 to Oct. 15 at two locations in the city, which have yet to be selected.
Electors living in long-term care and retirement homes will be able to cast their ballots at their residences between Oct. 4 and 7. The city’s election team also is evaluating “roaming voting” at certain high resident population apartment buildings, such as Brant and Lorne Towers.
On election day, there will be polls at about two-dozen locations across the city. Electors will be able to vote at any polling station in their ward.
A communications campaign will be conducted that will include candidacy details, voter list review opportunities, and information for electors about the voting process, such as how, where and when to vote.
That could be affected by the ongoing pandemic.
“The 2022 municipal election will be the first held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Vokes said in her report. “It is very likely that the election will be impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and the need for enhanced safety measures.”
Vokes said city staff has been assured by its online voting supplier, Dominion Voting Systems, that changes have been made to prevent voting delays like those in the 2018 election. Multiple cities, including Brantford, experienced significant delays in voters being able to cast their ballots toward the end of the election day time period. The glitch was caused by a systemwide bandwidth issue. The city used emergency powers under the Municipal Elections Act to extend voting by one hour.