To provide additional information to City Council on placing a secondary polling location in Polling Area 7 of Ward 3 and in Polling Area 13 of Ward 5. These additional locations were requested by Councillors to accommodate residents who have had difficulties attending a polling location in previous elections.
Accessibility Impact
The additional poll locations are accessible to persons with a disability. Advance poll options, mobile polls and the use of the mail-in ballot system will further increase accessibility options for the public.
Financial Impact
The total amount to accommodate the two additional locations is approximately $10,500. The amount budgeted for the 2020 Municipal Election should allow enough flexibility to absorb this cost.
Policy/Strategic Impact
With each Election, the goal is to improve the fairness and effectiveness of existing systems while creating consistency for the public. Elections are the pillar of democracy and facilitate the City’s ability to continue to deliver services to the public based on all strategic outcomes.
There are no environmental, risk/legal, or other implications or considerations.
The following two locations have been tentatively booked to host a regular poll location on Election Day, which is to be held on November 9, 2020. We have also provided the estimated cost of running each poll.
As these additional polls would be secondary locations, the polling area and number of voters in that area would not change; it would be anticipated that the number of voters that would attend this location would be fewer than what would be expected at a regular poll. With fewer anticipated voters we would look at options to staff the locations with fewer Issuing Deputy Retuning Officers (IDROs), but ensure we have enough staff at each location to uphold the same level of service to voters.
Ward | Poll# | Poll Name | Staffing Cost | Rent | Supplies* | Total |
3 | 31 | Evraz Place | Approximately $4,000 | $98/day | $1,200 | $5298 |
5 | 32 | W.F. Ready | Approximately $4,000 | N/A | $1,200 | $5200 |
*Supplies include vote counting equipment, office supplies, ballots, etc. | |
If the above noted locations are added to the list of approved polling locations for the 2020 Election, adjustments will be required to the polling locations that are outlined in report EX20-1 2020 Municipal Election Report to accommodate the additional polls. These adjustments are attached in Appendix C of this report.
The additional locations will be included in the communications and marketing strategy that is currently underway.
When the 2019 Ward Boundary Review was conducted, the committee that was established set out to ensure that any and all pain points and feedback from previous elections were taken into consideration. Most of the issues were resolved during the review and the boundaries were changed to reflect what the community wanted. This brought whole communities into a single ward (except for a few instances where this was not feasible), keeping in mind the natural boundaries and geographical restrictions. These boundaries were approved by City Council in July 2019.
The Polling Area Review was conducted in the same manner as the ward boundary review. Careful consideration was taken into account in relation to any challenges or pain points expressed by voters in previous elections and these were addressed through this process to ensure the voter experience was as positive as possible and these same issues would not be experienced in the 2020 Election.
Ward 3 residents expressed a concern with having to travel to Eastview to vote in 2016. The polling area within this ward have been adjusted to ensure voters in this area are able to vote at a location nearest to their residence. Those who are south of Dewdney, in polling area 7 would have to travel south across the train tracks and Saskatchewan Drive to vote in the Cathedral Area. It was requested that Administration provide an additional polling location in polling area 7, north of Saskatchewan Drive has been secured at Evraz Place to accommodate the voters in this area, see Appendix A.
Ward 5 voters who live south of Victoria Avenue expressed concerns with having to travel north across Victoria Avenue to vote at their poll location in 2016. With the recent polling area review, this issue was addressed by having the polling area boundary run along Victoria Avenue so that residents would not have to cross the natural boundary to vote. It was requested that Administration provide an additional location for voters in this area as to accommodate voters in this area. An additional location has been secured at W.F. Ready Elementary School, see Appendix B.
At the January 15, 2020 meeting of the Executive Committee, the Committee reviewed report EX20-1 2020 Municipal Election Report and the committee recommended that Council approve the following amendment:
“That an additional polling station be added to Ward 3 between polling stations 7 & 8 and that the cost and specific location be brought to Council January 29, 2020.”
Respectfully Submitted,
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