Internet and Telephone Voting

Like many other municipalities in Ontario (217 to be exact), City Council initially approved the switch to Internet-Telephone voting from mail-in ballots on January 24, 2017 for the 2018 election. Since then, Council has unanimously confirmed this decision on January 28, 2021 for the 2022 election.

There are many advantages to adopting this method of voting:

Emergency Preparedness: Voting by Internet or Telephone does not require any large gatherings at polling stations, and allows voters to vote from the comfort and safety of their home if future emergency stay-at-home orders are issued.

Efficiency: reduces printing, return postage fees, staff time for vote counting, and the amount of paper utilized.

Accessibility: Internet-Telephone Voting is a convenient option for electors allowing them to use their own devices and access their ballots anytime during the voting period, and from anywhere with Internet or Telephone access. The City’s Accessibility Advisory Committee has vetted this switch, and have endorsed the use of use of Internet-Telephone voting.

Accuracy: Internet-Telephone voting uses electronic ballots exclusively reducing counting error from manual tabulations;

Automatic Tabulation: 100% of the results will be available in the hours after 8pm on October 24, once all voters have completed their voting.

Convenience: Thousands of Kawartha Lakes non-resident electors do not live in Kawartha Lakes, and therefore should be given the equal opportunity to vote as those who live here. Every elector will be able to vote from a location of their convenience. Also, compared to mail-in voting from years past, voters will no longer need to find a postal box, or rely on the postal service to ensure their ballot returned back to City Hall.

How to vote

Voting is convenient with Internet-Telephone Voting:

1. Check the Voters’ List to ensure you are on it, and your mailing address is up to date.
2. Wait for your Voting PIN Letter to arrive in the mail by October 11th.
   • Keep the Voting PIN Letter in a safe place until voting opens on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 9:00am
   • You will have 10 Days to vote, but do not wait until the last minute in case you have difficulty logging into the voting system
3. Open your Voting PIN Letter, and find the PIN number that will let you access to the voting system.
4. You have 2 Ways that you can vote:
   • Vote by telephone (takes about 10-15 minutes)
     • Call the phone number provided in your voting kit
     • Enter your PIN
     • Enter your date of birth
     • If you receive an error after several attempts to login, this may be because your birthdate information is incorrect in our Voting System. You will need a new PIN. Please contact us a 705-324-9411 ext. 1888.
     • Follow the audio prompts to vote (use the '#' to confirm your selections)
     • Don't hang up too early! Be sure to go through all the prompts to get your confirmation code to know that your vote has been cast.
   • Vote by internet (takes about 5 minutes)
     • Visit the voting website provided in your voting PIN letter by entering the address into the address bar at the top of your internet browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge etc.)
     • Enter your PIN
     • Enter your date of birth
       
     • Complete the Captcha challenge as shown on the screen
     • If you receive an error after several attempts to login, this may be because your birthdate information is incorrect in our Voting System. You will need a new PIN. Please contact us a 705-324-9411 ext. 1888.
     • Follow the prompts through all contests, and complete your ballot by pressing Submit Ballot
5. Want to ensure your vote counted? Write down the Confirmation Code you receive after voting. Following the Election, the Clerk's Office will publish a list of confirmation codes that were included in the vote totals. You will be able to find your unique confirmation code on that list to confirm you vote was successfully included in the vote results.
6. If you do not have access to a touch-tone telephone, or internet at your home, visit a Kawartha Lakes Service Centre, or select Kawartha Lakes Library Branch during regular business hours, and use their touch-screen kiosk or public-access computers.
7. If you did not receive your Voting PIN letter in the mail by October 11, you will be able to obtain your Voting PIN letter from the Election Office at City Hall, or at any Municipal Service Centre.

Things you don’t have to do to vote in this municipal election:

• Drive to a polling station
• Wait in a line
• Produce an email address
• Give your vote to a live person on the telephone (ensuring the secrecy of the ballot)
• Get out of your pyjamas (vote from the comfort of your home)

If you need more information, or have any questions or concerns, we’re here to help. Contact the Office of the City Clerk, or the Elections Office at City Hall, 26 Francis Street, Lindsay ON (705) 324-9411 ext. 1888.

Kawartha Lakes, like many other municipalities in Ontario, have adopted an alternative voting system Internet-Telephone Voting for the 2022 Municipal Elections. This alternative voting method has been used in our previous Municipal Elections in 2018 as well as in many other municipalities (Markham, Newmarket, Vaughan, Townships in Peterborough County, Municipalities in Muskoka, Townships in Haliburton County, etc.) for both efficiency and voter turnout.

Internet-Telephone Voting offers convenience for all voters whether they live in Sebright, Seagrave, Scarborough, or Scranton, as all eligible voters will receive their voting kits in the mail, and will be able to vote from the convenience of their own home. It eliminates polling stations, advance polls and proxy voting. It provides accessibility and has been fully endorsed by our Accessibility Advisory Committee. It transforms every telephone, smartphone, or desktop computer into a ballot box.

If you need more information, or have any questions or concerns, we’re here to help. Contact the Office of the City Clerk, or the Elections Office at City Hall, 26 Francis Street, Lindsay ON (705-324-9411 ext. 1888)

Can I see Internet-Telephone Voting in action before voting?

An up to date video will be provided closer to the voting period to provide a visual example of how it works.

In 2018, the Town of Newmarket used the same technology as what will be used for the 2022 Kawartha Lakes Municipal Election. You can see their demonstration videos below.

Internet Voting:

Telephone Voting:

Will there be any paper ballots available for electors?

No paper ballots are needed. Kawartha Lakes is embarking on the alternative model of Internet-Telephone Voting for the 2022 Municipal Election, therefore this will be the City’s second paperless-ballot election. This has been selected as the option for electors to ensure that all electors (whether those that live in Kawartha Lakes, or abroad) get an equal opportunity to vote.

Since amalgamation, the City has never had a traditional polling station model of voting, and the first five elections had been elections have been held exclusively by mail-in ballot. The 2018 Municipal Election introduced Kawartha Lakes to Internet-Telephone Voting. Provincial and Federal elections will continue to utilize paper ballots for their elections.

Who is the provider of our Internet-Telephone Voting System?

For 2022, the municipality is newly partnering with Scytl Canada with a long history of providing technology for Internet and Telephone Municipal Elections in Ontario and around the world. Scytl was selected in accordance with the City's Purchasing Policy as part of a competitive process. Scytl Canada will also be partnering with over 30 other municipalities in Ontario for the 2022 Municipal Elections including:

• Markham
• Vaughan
• Newmarket
• Barrie
• Sudbury
• All townships in Haliburton County
• Blue Mountains
• Georgina; and
• East Gwillimbury

Voters' List management is a partnership between our software provider DataFix, and the data provider for the Voters' List is MPAC (as is required under the Municipal Elections Act).

Is Internet-Telephone Voting Secure?

Kawartha Lakes is committed to ensuring the security and secrecy of the vote. We will be conducting vote counting audits  and third-party penetration testing with other municipalities to ensure the results on October 24, 2022 are secure, efficient, and accurate.

Our Internet and Telephone Voting Provider, Scytl Canada, has been ISO27001 certified since 2019. This standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system. It also includes requirements for the assessment and treatment of information security risks that have been tailored to the data managed by Scytl. They also comply with the highest standards on data protection, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). They continuously raise awareness and build skills among their team to ensure the confidentiality, accuracy, and availability of all personal data processed in all their projects as well as within our corporate activities. In 2021, they were audited and certified by a Law Firm specializing on digital law and data protection.

A statement from Dominion Voting (the 2018 Voting System provider) was made available to the public regarding the Slowdown of the Voting System on October 22 from 6:30-8:00pm. The City remains confident that at all times the vote was secure, and that there was no malicious intent.

Kawartha Lakes will be using a new voting service provider for the 2022 Municipal Election, and continued planning for electoral security and reliability will be our focus.