Moving foward on task force recommendations
Fifteen of the 16 final recommendations of the Task Force on Democratic Participation and Renewal have been adopted by Council and are now being implemented. The only one not approved was that all candidates be requested to report campaign donations on a voluntary basis over the course of a campaign, rather than months afterwards, as they are mandated to by the Municipal Elections Act. Another recommendation, to implement internet voting, was referred until such time as the security of such voting is unquestionable.
2010 is an election year in Ontario. On Monday, October 25, voters will go to the polls in municipalities across the province. Voter turnout has been an issue in Canada for many years, especially at the municipal level, where historically, the numbers are very low. In Vaughan in 2006, voter turnout was just 38%, below the provincial average of 41.3%.
The main goal of the task force was to increase voter turnout. In the view of the Task Force members, the way to do that is to create a more informed and engaged voter. The recommendations are also intended to improve the City of Vaughan’s existing election model for the long term by engaging the community more effectively and increasing participation in the process.
April 27, 2010 Update |
The recommendations include extending voting hours to accommodate commuter residents, promoting advance voting days, providing alternative voting locations during advance voting week, and a number of other initiatives to encourage and inform constituents of candidates and voting days.
One of the ways to increase voter turnout is to make it more convenient, and that will be achieved with Advance Voting Week. A number of locations have been chosen across the City to make voting easy and accessible for everyone and to encourage residents to vote ahead of Election Day. Besides providing opportunities in each of the City’s five wards, an effort is being made to provide locations that allow voters to cast their ballots while shopping or going to school. For the 2010 municipal election, Advance Voting week will include locations at the Promenade Mall, Vaughan Mills, York University and the Woodbridge Fall Fair.
Another initiative is to hold Meet and Greet Sessions which would provide an opportunity to discuss issues with candidates in person. These sessions are expected to be held at community centres after Labour Day and prior to Election Day and will allow greater participation on the part of voters and candidates. The plan calls for five events, one in each ward to be organized by third parties.
Council has also approved a recommendation to name the wards in Vaughan. The idea is to help residents better identify with their local community and interact with their local representative. Council has approved a list of ward names:
Ward 1 Maple/Kleinburg
Ward 2 Woodbridge West
Ward 3 Woodbridge/Vellore
Ward 4 Concord/Thornhill North
Ward 5 Thornhill