Clearview voting system is safe and secure: Officials

Clearview Township officials are hoping to curb any concerns about the way people will vote next month.
In the 2014 municipal election, voters in Clearview and Mulmur will have a choice to vote online or using the telephone.
Voting will be facilitated by Nova Scotia-based Intelivote Systems. President and founder Dean Smith said the system is secure and easy to navigate.
Smith said the system is encrypted and secured through Bell Canada.
During the upcoming election, 97 municipalities will be voting online or by telephone, 48 of which will use the Intelivote system, including Wasaga Beach.
Smith said, although voter turnout depends greatly on the excitement of the race, election results have shown that voter participation increased 71 per cent. He noted women used the system 10 per cent more than men.
“You do get more young voters than in the paper world but you do get an increase in the older population,” said Smith. “They may go to the telephone if they don’t have a computer.”
Voters 60 and older are the most active users, with 30-40 per cent using the phone, and 60-70 per cent opting for the web.
Of voters under 60, 12-15 per cent used the phone and 85-88 per cent used the web.
With weather, transportation, illness and disability being factors in getting out to polls, voting from home or a mobile device anywhere in the world makes the process convenient, said Smith.
“It’s sheer convenience, most people don’t think of it as risky,” he said.
Eligible voters will get a letter in the mail containing a web address, a toll free phone number and a pin number.
Once on the phone or website, voters follow the prompts.
People can skip certain fields if they choose or spoil the ballot.
Smith said it is common for people to start the voting process, then exit the system to research candidates before logging back in and completing the process.
Results, as required by the Municipal Elections Act, are kept for 120 days, longer if there is a contest.
Letters containing voting instructions will be mailed out on Oct. 7.
People should call the township office if they have not received their pin number by Oct. 14.
The 1996 Municipal Elections Act allowed for alternative voting methods.
Clearview voters last went to the polls in 2000.
In 2003, 2006 and 2010, the township used a mail-in ballot system.
Online and telephone voting will be open from Oct. 17-27.

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