Yea or nay? Voting system changeover on hold as councillors debate merits of electronic upgrade By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 7:00 PM CST Monday, Jan. 18, 2021

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This article was published 17/01/2021 (1451 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg’s switch to an electronic voting system that would record and publish all city council votes is now delayed — despite concerns Winnipeg has already fallen behind other jurisdictions.

The city began testing an electronic voting system at executive policy committee meetings in September, though a motion headed to the Jan. 28 council meeting now calls for council approval before the system can be applied to final council votes.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he’s open to further discussion but remains convinced the new system will provide the most open and transparent option.

“The way in which we currently vote is really an antiquated method of ‘yea’ and ‘nay.’ The key thing for me is that the default (presently) is not for votes to be identifiable. It doesn’t allow (media) or members of the public to know how members of council, including myself, have voted on specific matters,” said Bowman, noting several Canadian municipalities have already switched to similar electronic systems.

City councils in: Calgary, Alta; Edmonton, Alta; Strathcona County, Alta; Airdrie, Alta; Port Moody, B.C.; Moncton, N.B.; Fredericton, N.B.; St. John’s, Nfld.; London, Ont.; Hamilton, Ont.; Toronto, Ont.; and Vancouver, B.C. have all switched to electronic recorded votes at council meetings, according to the City of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg’s electronic system now allows EPC members to enter each vote in their computers. The results are displayed to all who watch live video of the meetings and later posted online. Starting at Wednesday’s EPC meeting, those results will also be displayed on screens within council chambers.

At all other committees and council, councillors must still vote by calling out “yea” or “nay” while seated, which doesn’t highlight individual votes. When a recorded vote is requested by a council member, each councillor must stand to individually declare their vote for the record.

The mayor said requiring a record for each vote, not just when a council member happens to ask for one, would allow voting patterns to be tracked.

“It’s one way to hold politicians more accountable than they are right now,” said Bowman.

“It’s one way to hold politicians more accountable than they are right now.” – Mayor Brian Bowman

The mayor said the change could have been extended to council at its Jan. 28 meeting. He said the new motion to require council to first approve the change will delay that.

Council speaker Devi Sharma has raised the motion over concerns the current voting system may be easier for some citizens to follow.

“Rising to show your support for or against an item is the most effective and recognized method as opposed to simply displaying a screen of results that would be difficult for some viewers to interpret and understand. Technology can create a barrier for those who don’t use smart phones or computers and for those whose first language is not English,” wrote Sharma (Old Kildonan), in an emailed statement.

By contrast, Sharma described the current council voting system as “very accountable and transparent.”

Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital), who seconded Sharma’s motion, said he agrees with the call for voting transparency but is also concerned those watching council meetings may have trouble keeping up with some electronic votes, since councillors would no longer have to stand up to see their votes counted.

Mayes said he hopes debate on the issue will trigger a compromise, while also giving council the final say on the matter.

“I think that if we have a change like that to our operating procedures, we the 16 (members of council) should decide if that’s desired or not,” said Mayes.

The mayor said he would consider allowing votes to be both stated and electronically registered, if that’s needed to gain council support of the change.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics is involved. Joyanne became the city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press in early 2020.

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