All cities wishing to participate in the introduction of Internet voting during the 2025 municipal elections will be able to do so. In total, 300,000 voters from 21 different municipalities will be able to express their voice in just a few clicks.
Élections Québec was first to limit the experiment to around fifteen cities, but announced on Wednesday that it would retain the 21 municipalities which indicated they wanted to act as a laboratory.
“Our wish to collaborate with around fifteen municipalities was based on the desire to conduct a first small-scale trial, with the aim of having a cautious and gradual approach and having the necessary resources to properly support each participating city, the electoral organization indicated in a press release. These elements are still respected, even by accepting six additional municipalities. »
Montreal, Quebec, Laval, Gatineau, Lévis, Trois-Rivières, Terrebonne, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Drummondville, Granby, Mirabel, Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Saint-Georges, Alma, Sainte-Julie, Magog, Beloeil, Baie-Comeau, Saint-Lazare and Joliette will therefore become the first to introduce Internet voting into Quebec democracy.
The test will be limited to a few districts in each of these municipalities: in total, Élections Québec estimates that 300,000 people will be able to take advantage of online voting, or “barely more than 4% of the Quebec electorate”.
The 21 selected cities all have a population of more than 20,000 people. “These more populous municipalities were targeted in particular because there are fewer unopposed elections there, which ensures that the vote is held,” specifies Élections Québec.
The electorate chosen to serve as guinea pig for this first experience in the Quebec electoral landscape will also be able to express their vote by one of the traditional methods, by ballot box or by correspondence.
Before confirming that an Internet vote will be held on November 2, 2025, Élections Québec must still choose the company that will manufacture the online voting system.
An agreement must also be concluded “between each participating city, Élections Québec and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which is responsible for the application of the Act respecting elections and [des] referendums in municipalities”.