Province looking at new way to vote in municipal elections

New rules could be on the way for the 2018 municipal election.

The province is giving cities the option to switch over to ranked ballots, instead of voting for a single candidate.

“This would let voters rank candidates instead of voting for a single person, which will give the winning candidate a much higher percentage of the vote and a broader mandate,” Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin said Thursday.

Timmins Mayor Steve Black says they’ll consider the option, if the majority of residents are in favour of it.

“I think if you look at most of the Wards, you may only have one or two candidates running in some cases so it may not have an impact,” he said, “But with a Ward like Ward 5 was, when you get 12 or 13 candidates, it may have a strong impact on the result.”

McMeekin cited a result in the Toronto area, saying a councillor was elected with just 17 per cent of the vote.

“That should raise some flags, methinks,” he said.

Proponents of the voting system believe it can make campaigns more civil, forcing candidates to be more engaged in substantive debate, instead of just trying to get whatever percentage of the vote that will see them win.

McMeekin also thinks new ideas, such as this one will help a downward trend of voter turnout.

The provincial government noted that ranked ballots could be used for votes for both the mayor and councillors or only the mayor, while the rest of council is elected using the current first-past-the-post system. Ranked ballots will not be used to elect school board trustees.

Ontario will convene a working group of municipal representatives and ranked ballot advocates to provide advice on how to best implement a new system, and as well is inviting public input until July 27.

The government is also reviewing the Municipal Elections Act to look at changing rules around campaign financing, third-party advertising, accessibility and enforcing municipal election rules.

At this point, Black says it will go to council for discussion.  He says we’ll have to wait to hear from residents, and see if the move is seen as a positive.

(With files from The Canadian Press)