Sarnia council wants to know if it's feasible to count paper ballots by hand in the next municipal election to save money.
After agreeing to reconsider its previous decision to only have online voting in the fall of 2022, council deferred the matter again Monday.
Councillor Nathan Colquhoun asked for the deferral to allow time to determine if paper ballots can be used without optical scan vote tabulators and accessible voting equipment -- at an estimated savings of $530,000.
"I assume that the amount of paper ballots that would come in, would be quite low and that a manual count each time that needs to be done would be a suitable way forward," said Colquhoun. "Personally, I don't trust computer equipment, I think it's unsafe and susceptible to hackers."
Councillor Bill Dennis said while he's uncomfortable with people counting ballots by hand, the city can't let citizens feel their democracy is being manipulated.
"One other concern that I have heard over and over again, some residents feel the elimination of paper ballots is an attempt to manipulate voter support," said Dennis. " Some citizens have told me they believe this is a way to put your finger on the scale, some believe it's a way to reduce the impact of the senior vote, because certain politicians are viewed as having stronger senior support."
Dennis said if the majority of citizens surveyed want paper ballots then it would be a shame not to move to the hybrid model.
Clerk Amy Burkhart said the vote can be held without electronic tabulators, but the results would not be timely, and there is no way to predict how many people will actually cast a vote using paper ballots.
Staff are to report back at council's next meeting.
