Council discusses internet voting system for next Whitehorse municipal election

Internet voting could be coming to Whitehorse's next municipal election, but one city councillor fears the North isn't exempt from the risk of foreign interference.

The city has drafted a bylaw to govern this year's election, set for Oct. 17, and any future by-elections. 

On Monday night the City's Director of Corporate Services Valerie Braga took questions from councillors about the new legislation.

She explained that internet voting could capture a larger pool of voters.

"It is a means of getting the vote out to people without requiring them to have to come to a polling space. We, traditionally, have not had high voter turnout and we saw this as an opportunity to try to get more people voting," she said. 

In the 2022 municipal election, about 37 per cent of Whitehorse's eligible voters cast a ballot. 

Comparatively, in the 2021 territorial election, 65 per cent of the Yukon's registered electors had a say. 

The draft bylaw states that voters will be able to cast an online ballot from Sept. 27 until polling day.

Paper ballots and special ballots will still be available.  

For Councillor Ted Laking, the idea posed some "serious concerns."

He cited a "growing tide of foreign interference" in elections in Canada and the United States. 

"We know that countries such as Russia are not afraid to use these types of tools to interfere in elections. We're seeing that closer to home with daily revelations coming out of the foreign interference inquiry," he said.

"To quote from a CSIS briefing note... 'foreign actors are targeting all levels of government including the provincial and municipal levels'. Then it goes on to state that the purpose of this would be 'as a means of generating bottom up pressure on higher levels of government to influence policies.' " 

Laking urged the city not to "open the door" and allow Whitehorse to be used as a test case by foreign actors.