COUNCILLORS DISCUSS INTERNET VOTING FOR 2026 NO GUARANTEE AGAINST “UNDUE INFLUENCE”

COUNCILLORS DISCUSS INTERNET VOTING FOR 2026 NO GUARANTEE AGAINST “UNDUE INFLUENCE” By Dean Hickey A RECENT STAFF REPORT which suggests Oshawa city council endorse the use of internet voting for the 2026 municipal election has given rise to concerns over what some are calling ‘undue influence’ on the integrity of the voting process. But not everyone agrees. For one minute and fourteen seconds – it seemed much longer – members of the Corporate & Finance committee listened as Ward 2 City councillor Jim Lee assured them no foreign country would ever attempt to interfere with a local municipal election should internet voting be established. With apologies to Shakespeare, there are more things in heaven and earth, Jim, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. A man not counted as being among the more erudite members of council, he proceeded to offer a few insights on the staff report that show a remarkable simplicity of thought. “We’re not the first municipality in the province of Ontario or in Canada that is looking at internet voting, or doing internet voting, and on the whole security issue…I’m trying to get my mind around somebody sitting in their basement trying to influence a municipal election here in the city of Oshawa, and I don’t get it. I don’t see different countries wanting to influence a municipal election…” The concept of internet voting does not involve a simple ‘flip of the switch’ and to ignore the security threats of the internet is to push aside the vulnerabilities related to online voting. Councillor Lee, in his further attempts at reassuring his colleagues of the merits of the staff report, suggested a veritable groundswell of support exists within the community for changing the democratic process. “One of the things as a new councillor…and I knocked on thousands of doors…one of the things I heard the most is, when is the City of Oshawa going to move into the 21st century with regard to municipal elections?” Aside from the somewhat dubious suggestion that taxpayers in Ward 2 are mostly concerned with internet voting in the face of high property taxes, rising crime rates, and a homeless problem that threatens to destroy the city’s downtown, no-one should be arguing in favour of such a change simply because some voters like it. A 2016 report that appeared in Municipal World cited a consensus among computer security experts that internet voting, especially as done by commercial vendors, is fundamentally insecure. At that time, several independent computer security experts conducted a study for the City of Toronto, examining three internet voting systems submitted in response to a Toronto RFP (Request for Proposals). The study concluded that “no proposal provides adequate protection against the risks inherent in internet voting.” In a 2022 interview with CBC, Deputy Toronto City Clerk Fiona Murray told reporters that the city's chief technology and information security officers both said they didn't believe online voting was a secure method, and as a result, the city chose not to use it for both security and accessibility reasons. The internet is now a more volatile place than ever before, and yet the report issued by Oshawa’s City Clerk places ‘technical security’ at the bottom of a list of potential risks, with accessibility and cost issues playing a more prominent role. The authors of the report admit to the very real potential for outside interference. “Attackers may attempt to directly alter the election results, impair public trust in City operations, or infiltrate systems to undermine the legitimacy of City administration and Council; however, these risks are inherent to any election utilization strategy.” Well that’s certainly comforting. What is not, is the assertion by staff that the real threat to the democratic process is anyone in the community who suggests an election may have been tampered with in the first place. “The more likely line of attack for local elections are misinformation operations such as posting false claims on social media…” the report says. I see. So electors are to simply keep their mouths shut and put their trust in the bureaucratic machinery at city hall. In her response to questioning by members of the Corporate & Finance committee, the City’s CAO, Tracy Adams confirmed that, as a municipality, staff have not previously felt confident enough in terms of internet security, but she went on to say “Since then, a lot has evolved… There’s been thought-leaders as well as experts in cybersecurity, political science, public policy, election administration, and they have now drafted standards specific to internet voting.” The standards referred to represent a series of recommended best practices only, and regardless of the list of ‘security tools’ contained within the staff report, there is no guarantee the election will not be compromised. As Ward 2 Regional councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri suggested at the committee, “The threat of compromise is real; let’s not kid ourselves.” Ultimately, it was an amendment proposed by Ward 3 City councillor Brad Marks that would leave room for further consideration. Following a 757-word monologue that would see him neither endorse nor fully condemn the staff report as presented, committee members voted in favour of directing staff to investigate internet voting for advance polls, as well as internet voting with paper ballots and vote tabulators for the 2026 municipal and school board elections. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario confirmed in a 2018 report that an increasing number of municipalities are attempting to introduce internet voting, however the statistical data available suggests that, even though there has been some shift from paper ballots to on-line voting, the overall impact on voter turnout has not varied significantly. Data shows Ontario’s participation rate for the 2022 municipal election was approximately 33 per cent, compared with 43.1 per cent in 2014. Oshawa saw its lowest-ever voter turnout during the last municipal election, with just 18.4 per cent of eligible voters casting a ballot. The reasons why are many, and they include lackluster campaigns, the absence of any real visibility, other than a collection of signs competing for space at major intersections, and the closing of printed newspapers that were less resilient or relevant than the Oshawa Central. It is worth noting that in 1982, when residents relied on door-to-door newspaper delivery for local news, statistics show voter turnout to have been much higher, by at least 10 per cent province-wide. That alone is evidence enough to show the electorate as being less involved in their own communities, now that their attention has shifted towards handheld devices. In an age of 24-hour news from around the globe, the significance of local happenings is irrecoverably lost in a tidal wave of information. News of city council debates from another country, or even continent, has somehow become of overwhelming importance to us all. Don’t ask me why.