MANAGER'S REPORT NO. 59
COUNCIL MEETING 1983 10 03

RE: FEASIBILITY OF AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM

MUNICIPAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION:
ce nctes ern ee UAL LON S

1, THAT the recommendation of the Direstor Adniniatrative &
Communtty Services be adopted,

1983 September 29.
TO: MUNICIPAL MANAGER
FROM: DIRECTOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND COMMUNITY SERVICES
SUBJECT: FEASIBILITY OF AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM

RECOMMENDATION:

1. THAT the larger municipalities throughout the lower main-
land be requestsed to give an indication of their support
for the concept of an automated voting and election

. tallying system. .

REPORT

Over the past several months, staff of the Municipal Clerk's Depart-
ment and the Director Administrative and Community Services have
been studying the existing election system within the Municipality,
and more specifically have examined the feasibility of an automated
election system, similar to that used in nearly a thousand. other
municipal jurisdictions in North.America. The system was used once
before in Burnaby, in 1972.

There are of course a number of impediments to the introduction of
such a system, not the least of which is the fact that existing lage
islation makes no provision for automated voting and vote tallying
Systems, with the exception of the Charter of the City of Vancouver,
which does make such a provision. ° . .

In the current economic environment, however, staff in all areas

of the Corporation have been searching for.means of economizing in
Municipal operations. Some of those economies can be realized in
relatively short periods of time, while others such as this proposal
rely on a “pay back" which stretches over a longer span of time.

Quite apart from the: issue of costs, speed and accuracy are two of
the major criteria by which one can judge the efficiency and effect-
iveness ofan election system. Experience in many other jurisdic-
tions has indicated that accuracy can be significantly improved,

at a lower cost over the long term. Should the existing system be
continued, costs in the years to come will rise as a result of the
need for reorganizing the "manual" election system. With increasing
numbers of voters, either the number of polling places or polling
staff or both will have to be increased. .