Leamington council rejected a recommendation from administration Tuesday night that would have seen residents cast their ballots strictly online during the 2026 municipal election.
Administration told council that Internet voting offered convenience, flexibility, and accessibility, allowing voters to cast ballots securely from anywhere with Internet access.
The report also stated it reduces staffing costs, speeds up results, supports voters with disabilities or those abroad, and would be subject to new national standards introduced in 2024 that guide municipalities in choosing secure online voting systems.
In the 2022 election, administration recommended vote by mail because of ongoing COVID restrictions.
Coun. Heather Latam said she was concerned about the direction the Internet was heading.
"I'm concerned with the rapid uptick in [artificial intelligence], and how our world has changed so drastically just in the last few months with AI, and concerns over the integrity of a platform when none of us really truly can understand AI yet," Latam said.
Coun. Tim Wilkinson said he trusted the recommendation from administration.
"I like the reasons for, the money factor, the labour, all that stuff is badly needed these days. We need to be as efficient and lean as possible," said Wilkinson.
Coun. Anthony Abraham wanted a mix of in-person and mail-in voting.
"To me in-person is always the way to go, and it's a little bit more traditional, but, I feel like people are in control when they do in-person voting. Where over the Internet people will say things like oh that's not what I voted, somebody changed, there's just too much things," Abraham said.
Mayor Hilda MacDonald said she hoped doing an election through traditional means would build trust with the electorate.
"I too will be supporting in-person. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but, in the times that we're facing and the threat of interference and AI, it certainly has me not terribly confident in the system. I feel the other is less problematic," said MacDonald.
Council approved and authorized in-person voting for the election taking place on Oct. 26, 2026.
The report stated the town had $90,306 in its election reserves. Staff told council an in-person election would cost upwards of $250,000, which will be dealt with during 2026 budget deliberations.
Earlier this year, Lakeshore also rejected online voting, but LaSalle decided to move towards online voting, removing the telephone option.