Voters in fifteen cities in Quebec will be able to vote by Internet during the municipal elections of 2025.
Elections Quebec announced on Tuesday that it is preparing the very first trial of Internet voting in the province. The purpose of the approach is to facilitate access to the vote.
This initiative is intended to be “prudent and gradual”, indicates the institution in a press release.
Internet voting will be offered in certain districts or boroughs of about fifteen towns with more than 20,000 inhabitants. The organization intends to favor more populous cities, because there are fewer elections without opposition, and they are all divided into districts or boroughs, it is explained.
Élections Québec specifies that all the usual ways of voting will be maintained: advance voting and voting on election day will take place as usual.
Municipal elections are the responsibility of municipal election presidents. Elections Quebec will, however, be responsible for testing Internet voting.
“Thus, the experience would be uniform from city to city and it will meet the institution’s rigorous requirements,” the statement read.
“Like any pilot project, this test will have to be the subject of an agreement between Elections Quebec, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as well as the participating municipalities,” we add.
It is expected that in the coming weeks, some municipal councils will pass a resolution to confirm their intention to participate in the pilot project.
The names of the cities will be revealed as they become available on the Elections Québec website.
The Internet voting platform will be designed by a specialized firm that must meet established requirements, particularly in terms of security and accessibility.
A call for tenders will be launched next fall.