Mail in vote is back
by Bruce Haire

In a second reversal by council, Innisfil residents will vote by mail in the Nov. 13th municipal elections.

In a recorded vote, Council voted to reinstitute mail-in balloting reversing a decision made in August 9th.

Back in June council in a 5-4 vote voted in favour of mail-in balloting.

But at the August 9th meeting of council, that recommendation was defeated in a recorded vote with Mayor Jackson and Councillors Van Berkel, Pring and Wauchope in favour and Councillors Wardlaw, Beleskey, Dollin and Deputy Mayor Baguley against.

The vote was lost in a tie with Coun. Bridge (who had been in favour of the mail-in balloting) absent due to illness.

Mail-in voting was to cost about $100,000 which was about $25,000 more than traditional voting. Those in favour argued that it would enable out of town landowners, cottagers, etc. to vote.

However, at Wednesday's meeting of Council, Bridge was back in his seat and Beleskey was absent.

When Clerk Paul Landry brought forward a report setting the dates and locations of advance polls, that motion was defeated in a recorded vote.

Coun. Bill Van Berkel then introduced a pre-typed motion calling for a mail-in ballot.

Councillor Lynn Dollin took exception to the motion with tongue in cheek lauding of Van Berkel for his motion but wondered why it had not been distributed to all of council noting she had heard rumours of it the day before. "There has been a lot of scheming prior to this meeting," she concluded.

Mayor Jackson chastised her for "unparliamentary language" but she challenged that saying she had only complimented Van Berkel on his motion.

On further questioning by Dollin of Landry, he said that the deadline for dealing with the voting issue was August 31. He also informed council they would have to use Canada Post rather than Data

Fix to handle the mail in balloting because the Data Fix deadline had passed for a decision and the Canada Post bid would cost about $7,400.

About council changing the voting method again, CAO Larry Allison defended Landry noting the Municipal Act gave the clerk wide discretion.

Deputy mayor Baguley acknowledged defeat on the issue saying there was no sense "beating a dead horse."

The vote passed in a recorded vote 6-2 with Dollin saying later that her major concern about the mail-in balloting was the opportunity for voter fraud in the new system.

Dollin also in the notice of motion session provided one to look at the procedural by-law and have a "definition of unparliamentary behaviour other than being on the opposite side of the debate."