Sask. gov’t turns down electronic vote counters despite positive showings

Despite what appears to have been a good showing for electronic vote-counting machines in the three byelections held last week, the provincial government has given a firm ‘no’ to using vote-counting machines in the provincial election in 2024.

The machines were used in all of the polls for the two Regina byelections, and in several but not all of the polls for the Lumsden-Morse byelection.

“The technology we used worked very, very well and was positively received in the three constituencies where it was used,” said Dr. Michael Boda, Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer.

Voters marked their choice on a paper ballot, returned it to a folder, and then the ballot was fed into the counting machine in front of them. Boda said the machines are not connected to the internet in any way.

Results came in incredibly quickly Thursday night, with the two urban ridings able to be called within about a half hour of the polls closing, and the rural riding about 45 minutes after that.

However, at a meeting of the Board of Internal Economy within the provincial government on Tuesday afternoon, Boda said the government members voted down his recommendation to use vote-counting machines in next year’s general election.

In a statement, Government House Leader and member of the board Jeremy Harrison said a ballot cast by hand should be counted by hand while under the supervision of scrutineers.
“The Government does not, and will not, support the use of electronic vote-counting machines for future general elections,” wrote Harrison.

He said the government has made that clear to the chief electoral officer, who has made this suggestion several times. Harrison also said the government doesn’t support the use of vote-counting machines in byelections, but that the chief electoral officer has authority over decisions in byelections while government makes the decisions in general elections.

“Our view is that the integrity — and perception of integrity — of our election system is best served by officials conducting the ballot count while being observed by accredited scrutineers,” read Harrison’s statement.

He said the Legislative Assembly itself had previously rejected another recommendation to move toward vote-counting machines.

Premier Scott Moe echoed Harrison’s sentiments on Friday morning, though he also said he thought the byelections and their technology went well.

“As we we move forward I think one thing we always have to keep in mind, as we incorporate technology into our electoral system, is that we never, ever sacrifice the integrity of counting votes and the electoral votes, or the perception of that integrity as well,” said Moe.

However, Boda disagrees.

“The introduction of technology does that. It actually elevates the integrity of the process moving forward because it’s more accurate and we can understand where (any) challenges are,” explained Boda.

There were confirmatory hand counts done on Monday after the byelections, overseen by former Chief Justice John Klebuc. Boda said they did a hand count of ballots that had been struck, calculated those numbers through traditional methods and compared them against numbers provided by the machines on the last day of voting, and there was an exact match.
Boda said it’s encouraging but not surprising.

“In the nearly 30 years of election administration that I’ve been involved in, (vote-counting machines have) proven over and over again to be more accurate than a hand count of election officials,” he said.

Other elections

Other provinces use vote-counting machines, like B.C. and Ontario, and Manitoba will this fall, according to Boda. As well, municipalities like Regina have been using vote-counting machines for decades.

According to Kristina Gentile, the election co-ordinator for the municipal and school board elections for the City of Regina, Regina has been using vote-counting machines since 2000.

“This technology has proven to be efficient, accurate and reliable to collect and report results over the last 23 years, so the experience has definitely been positive,” said Gentile.

She said people haven’t really questioned the results coming from the machines and said there haven’t really been instances of something going wrong with the count. She did say it could happen where the machine might stop taking ballots, but they have contingencies in place for that.

The machines have vastly improved the speed of collecting and reporting, according to Gentile, and she said it’s gone over well with the public, candidates and workers.

Gentile described the logistics and accuracy testing done on the machines to make sure they’re working properly before an election.

“With the amount of testing that we do and the security around these machines, we have no concerns with the integrity around the vote,” said Gentile.

Other voting technology

The vote-counting machines were just one new piece of technology used as a pilot in the byelections and was just one of the six recommendations Boda made to the Board of Internal Economy.

Electronic poll books were also used last Thursday, with poll workers being able to look up and strike a voter off the list on the computer rather than having to look through a paper book.

Boda said they facilitate speed and accuracy at the polls.

A recommendation to use electronic poll books was also rejected by the Board of Internal Economy but it asked Boda to come back with another recommendation to use the electronic poll books, but without electronic vote counters and on a more limited basis.

Boda said that means the electronic poll books will be used in cities only with rural areas having traditional polling locations and paper books. He said that’s because using electronic poll books and introducing that efficiency on the front end of voting, but not having electronic vote counters and that efficiency on the back end, creates risks.

To give an example, he said there could be too many ballots to count on election night and the count could have to extend into the next day.

Boda will also come back with a second recommendation to account for those risks.

“The count will still be slow, but I have to find ways in order to make sure that the integrity is maintained throughout this process,” said Boda.

The Board of Internal Economy also rejected the introduction of a “vote anywhere” program, where people could vote at any poll, even outside their constituency. Boda said “vote anywhere” doesn’t work without electronic vote counting.

The board also approved three of Boda’s recommendations, including making polling divisions more flexible than just 300 voters, which is needed with the increase in vote-by-mail and the use of electronic poll books.

It also approved the concept of a voting week instead of having it separated into advance voting and an election day. The third recommendation approved was around voting by mail and wider allowances in that direction.

When asked whether he was disappointed the board said no to vote-counting machines, Boda didn’t say yes or no but started talking about how he’s been working on the vote modernization initiative for nearly 10 years.

“Ultimately, this process has been underway for some. There has been some agreement, but clearly … there was not agreement on the vote-counting equipment for some reason,” said Boda.

He said the point of the modernization push is to broaden access to the vote for everyone in the province.

Boda made the point several times that this was a decision by legislators, and while he’s not comfortable with some of it, he’ll implement what they’re asking for.