The City of Niagara Falls and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake recently considered whether to add an online voting option ahead of the 2026 municipal and school board elections cycle.
Ultimately, Niagara-on-the-Lake determined that now is the time to adopt online voting. Niagara Falls, however, decided against approving online voting as an option for next year’s vote.
Upon sensing that the Council was uneasy about debuting an online voting system at this time, and after a motion by Councillor Lori Lococco to approve the report failed to obtain a seconder, Niagara Falls City Clerk Bill Matson argued at a May 27 Council meeting for Council to greenlight the use of tabulators even if it was not convinced of the merits of online voting.
“I guess we can break it down into two main sections,” Matson said, reflecting on a staff report which advised the city to implement both in-person voting through vote tabulators as well as an online voting option for 2026.
“The area municipalities in the Region have an opportunity to put together a joint RFP for these types of services… and the thought process there emanated from the area CAOs getting together and trying to think of some efficiencies… and one of them was for the 2026 elections,” Matson explained.
“So with the growing trend to go to online voting, and to also perhaps continue with the paper voting of vote tabulators, it was thought that we could gain some efficiencies on sharing these costs in a joint RFP with other municipalities,” he continued.
“So if there’s no appetite for online voting, I would at least encourage Council to consider the continued use of the vote tabulators, which we’ve been doing for 27 years, or 28 years, here.”
The Niagara Falls Council eventually voted unanimously in favour of approving the use of tabulators for the 2026 elections.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, however, approved online voting as an additional option for 2026 in a 6-3 vote.
Similar to in Niagara Falls, a staff report was prepared for Niagara-on-the-Lake Councillors, which recommended that an online voting option be made available for residents in 2026, which would be supplemental to in-person voting.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Clerk and Manager of Legislative Services Grant Bivol reflected on the 2022 municipal elections and how a vote-by-mail system was employed as an alternative to in-person voting. Bivol foresees potential issues with continued reliance on vote-by-mail, however, when considering the instabilities in mail delivery, which have been exemplified during recent Canada Post job action.
“(During the 2022 election) we also had vote by mail, as well, as the alternative,” Bivol shared in comments during the May 27 Council meeting. “I won’t say obviously, but that could be problematic if you look at what’s been going on with Canada Post lately… I think their service is struggling somewhat… they are talking about less delivery, those sorts of things, as well.”
Online voting has received rigorous debate in recent years. Proponents of the system emphasize voter ease, the achievement of a higher voter turnout, and potential cost savings. Those opposed often cite concerns regarding identity verification and security threats.
Niagara-on-the-Lake joins The Towns of Fort Erie, Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln, and Pelham, as well as the City of Thorold, which have all either utilized an online voting option in a past election cycle or have approved doing so in 2026.
Nick Redekop completed his Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Labour Studies at Brock University. He has previously served in municipal and federal politics. In his free time, Nick enjoys following sports, taking part in outdoor activities, and reading biographies. Nick resides in Niagara Falls
