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Paper ballots the most secure and inclusive way to vote

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Once upon a time, people believed that politicians were elected to represent their constituents. Sadly, this appears to be a thing of the past.

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Shortly after the present Sarnia city council was elected, an election committee consisting of several knowledgeable people was formed. A motion by Coun. Margaret Bird to form such a committee was passed unanimously.

After many months, the committee put forth a recommendation based on their findings and a public survey. They proposed that both online and paper ballot voting be implemented. The cost of online only was $386,000, while providing both online and paper was $608,000, a difference of just more than $200,000.

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Council was not given the cost to the city in the last election of having employees available in the city hall foyer and in other locales to assist those who were unable to vote online. This could well have been as much as, or even more than, the difference in the provision of paper ballots.

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Coun. Nathan Colquhoun spoke against the committee’s recommendation, saying it was going backwards to a dumber system. Coun. Bird disagreed and pointed out that both provincial and federal governments use paper ballots as they are more secure and reliable.

Alexander Essex of Western University  maintains that paper ballots are the safest and most secure voting method.

Many seniors do not use computers and many others can’t afford them. It is their democratic right to be able to vote without assistance of city hall staffers and others.

The people of Sarnia were surveyed. They chose to have the paper ballot option.

In my not so humble opinion, only three councillors represented their constituents – Mayor Mike Bradley and Couns. Bird and Dennis. The others chose to do what they wanted, disregarding the public survey.

Perhaps they who did not represent their constituents will reconsider. It is always better to acknowledge a mistake and take steps to correct it.

Bernice Rade

Forest

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