Will we be able to vote by internet in the municipal elections of 2025? At least that is what the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Andrée Laforest, wants, who asked the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec (DGEQ) to look into the issue, hoping that this could increase the rate of participation.
“Wouldn’t we be back to working with electronic internet voting? In the field, I hear this comment a lot. And I believe that we would seek a lot more people, ”said the minister in a telephone interview on Monday.
At the time of writing, the official participation rate in municipal elections in Quebec was still not known, but would hover around 38%. In Montreal, it stood at 38.14%, compared to 42.5% in 2017, despite the fact that voters had four full days to go and vote.
In Laval, the rate was 28.8% and in Montérégie, 36.2%.
During the study of Bill 85, tabled last February, which aimed to facilitate the conduct of municipal elections in the context of the pandemic, Minister Laforest gave the DGEQ the mandate to study the possibility of implementing the Internet voting, in anticipation of the next municipal elections, in four years.
“For the 2025 elections, he will tell us if it is possible or impossible,” she continues.
Minister Laforest points out that the voting procedure has not changed for ages: we always look for the name of each citizen on a list and cross it out with a ruler, in hand, to indicate that he has exercised his right to vote.
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, ARCHIVES THE SUN
Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
But now, maybe it’s time to evolve a bit. For 2025, electronic voting, I have high expectations.
Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
The president of the Union of Quebec municipalities, Daniel Côté, mayor of Gaspé, agrees. “On the technical means, there is certainly a reflection that we must have in the whole of Quebec,” he said. On the whole process, there is going to be a need for modernization sooner or later. ”
Ontario pioneer
In Ontario, some municipalities have been using Internet voting for several years. In 2018, voters in at least 179 Ontario municipalities could vote this way, including Newmarket and Thunder Bay. This represents about 40% of all municipalities in the province.
Studies show that Internet voting has increased the participation rate by 3.5% in Ontario, according to Jérôme Couture, researcher attached to the Laboratory on Local Elections and lecturer at Laval University.
“It seems to have an effect on new voters, especially young people. And there seems to be an effect that lasts over time, ”explains the researcher, who himself was a candidate in the last elections in Quebec City.
But according to him, other reasons explain the disaffection of the citizens towards the municipal elections. This is mainly because the municipal level is considered a second-rate government, because voters lack information on the issues surrounding the election and because the different levels – in particular the borough town halls in Montreal – can seem complex to ordinary people.
“We must not overlook the fact that we had an early federal election which made a big impact in the municipal elections,” adds Philippe Dubois, doctoral researcher and coordinator of the University’s political communication research group. Laval.
Mr. Dubois believes that the lack of interest in the election of mayors and municipal councilors is mainly attributable to two factors: lack of information and cynicism.
“It shows to what extent information is essential not only to public life, but also to the exercise of democracy,” he concludes.