March 26, 1999

To:Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee

From:City Clerk

Subject:Municipal Voting Day - Year 2000

Purpose:

This report responds to a request from the Striking Committee on March 22, 1999 to report to the next meeting of the Strategic Policies and Priorities Committee on whether the Province of Ontario plans to change the date of the City of Toronto municipal election in the year 2000 to the third Monday in October.

Financial Implications:

None

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

1. Council request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to amend the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, Section 5, to enable municipalities to pass a by-law to provide for a voting day as approved by the municipality. The amendment should limit the choice of dates to a day no later than the second Monday in November and no earlier than the Thursday after Thanksgiving in October.
2. In the event the Minister is not in favour of Recommendation No. (1) above, the Minister be requested to institute a Province-wide municipal election date of the Thursday after Thanksgiving in an election year.
3. Council indicate their support for the City of Toronto municipal election to be held on the Thursday after Thanksgiving in an election year.
4. Council request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to amend the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, Subsection 6(1), to enable municipalities to pass a by-law to provide for the beginning date for a new council. Such date to be no more than two weeks after the date of the election.

History:

Municipal voting day is presently the second Monday in November of every third year. This wasn't always the case. In the early part of the century, voting day was the first Monday in January. However, during this period, special legislation was granted to a number of municipalities to allow them to have an earlier voting day. In 1946, the Municipal Act was amended to permit municipalities to establish a voting day between November 15 and January 2. This was the case until the Select Committee on Election Laws mandated uniformity in 1972. At this time, the first Monday in December was fixed as the regular voting day. In 1977 the legislation was amended again to set the second Monday in November as voting day. This date has remained unchanged.

The following excerpts are from Provincially appointed committees that have dealt with the voting day issue in the last twelve years. I have also included responses from the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

1. The Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Municipal Elections to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, February, 1987, recommended the following:

"Voting day be the third Tuesday in October".

The Municipal Elections Act was not amended to reflect the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Municipal Elections.

1. In his report to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, August, 1996, David Crombie, Chair, 'Who Does What Panel', recommends the following:

"Municipal Government voting day be changed from the second Monday in November to the Thursday after Thanksgiving".

1. In their response to the 'Who Does What Panel' Recommendations, October, 1996, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario made the following recommendation regarding voting day:

"AMCTO is supportive of the day of the week and the time of the year proposed".

1. In their response to the 'Who Does What Panel' Recommendations, September, 1996, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario provided the following:

"The recommendation recognizes voters' needs for accessibility and convenience. However, it also may have an adverse impact on candidates in rural Ontario whose primary/secondary occupation is farming".

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 was not amended to reflect the recommendation of the 'Who Does What Panel'. However, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing did indicate in press releases he would give further consideration to moving voting day for the 2000 municipal election.

Comments:

Three issues arise from this debate; which month would present the best option, does changing the day in the week have significant consequences, and should all municipalities be bound to the same day. When considering these alternatives our primary objective should be increased voter turnout.

Which month would be best?

A review of other municipal jurisdictions indicates that in Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon, municipal elections are held in October. November is the preferred choice in British Columbia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec, while New Brunswick holds its municipal elections in May and Newfoundland in September.

While comparing the second Monday in November to the Thursday after Thanksgiving in October during the last five municipal election years we find;

WEATHER STATISTICS

October clearly provides better weather and more daylight.

Other advantages associated with an October election include:

1. Electors that go south each year would be able to participate without using proxies.
2. Candidates would benefit by not having to replace the signs they traditionally lose during Halloween.
3. Having council in place earlier in the year would permit earlier involvement in the budget preparation process.
4. Electors could vote in warmer weather with more daylight available.
5. Cottage country municipalities could have advance voting over the Thanksgiving weekend, thereby permitting their non-resident electors to easily vote without using proxies.

Disadvantages would include:

1. Campaigns generally gather speed after Labour Day, the period would be reduced by approximately four weeks.
2. Harvest periods would be affected in the rural communities.
3. Gaming and fishing seasons would be affected in the rural communities.

Which day would be best?

It should be noted that provincial elections are traditionally on Thursdays. Municipal clerks have expressed a preference for any day other than Monday in order that they can make last minute preparations for voting day on days other than a weekend. This has the potential to reduce overtime costs.

A review of other municipal jurisdictions indicates that Alberta, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Northwest Territories, Ontario and the Yukon conduct municipal elections on Mondays. Wednesday is preferred by Saskatchewan and Manitoba with British Columbia and Nova Scotia voting on Saturdays. Quebec conducts municipal elections on Sundays, while Newfoundland prefers Tuesdays.

Mondays and Fridays historically have the weakest work attendance figures. This is an important fact to consider when the election depends on 10,000 people being hired for one day. Any day other than Monday would reduce the number of last minute cancellations on voting day, thereby reducing the cost of hiring standby personnel. It should also be noted that Federal Elections in the United States have been conducted on Tuesdays since 1845.

Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday appear to be the most acceptable days.

Provincial wide voting day?

Advantages of a province wide municipal election day include:

1. Media spotlight across the province is focused on one date. The hype of the Toronto Media may cause confusion in neighbouring municipalities that select a different date.

2. Process is clearer for those voters with a franchise in more than one municipality.

3. Ministry media can be delivered more effectively, this is done on such a small scale the impact in the City of Toronto would be negligible.

4. School Board elections would be impacted, particularly where electoral districts include more than one municipality. This could affect the French Language voters in Toronto.

Advantages of each municipality choosing their own municipal election day include:

1. Sharing of resources between municipalities, significant cost savings and revenues would be available through the sharing of technology and human resources.
2. Strategic dates would increase voter turnout, better weather, more daylight, this would eliminate the conflict between rural and urban municipalities and provide Council with the opportunity of choosing an effective day for the City of Toronto based on the many needs of Toronto voters'.
3. City of Toronto residents with voting rights in other municipalities would have more opportunities to vote.
4. An earlier date would permit Council to have earlier involvement in the budget preparation process.

With only one piece of legislation to govern one voting day throughout the Province, it becomes very difficult to design an election to serve the best interests of the City of Toronto voters. Each municipality has unique interests, ranging from religious and cultural considerations to harvest periods and gaming and fishing seasons. Residents and non-residents also present unusual circumstances. If each municipality was empowered to pass a by-law choosing a voting day best suited to their needs, elections would be conducted with greater ease, which would result in a better turnout and less expense.

Conclusions:

An election in October would provide voters with a better environment in which to exercise their franchise. By following Thanksgiving, you could take advantage of a holiday which brings families home by providing advance voting the weekend prior to voting day.

The administration would benefit if voting day was moved from Monday. Thanksgiving appears to be the best time of the month for including as many voters as possible. Thursday following Thanksgiving would be the best day to guarantee maximum preparation time for the election administrators.

One of the guiding themes behind the rewriting of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 was to provide more flexibility and local decision-making to municipalities to design their elections to suit their particular local needs. The ability to select a voting day is a logical extension of this flexibility.

Contact:

John Hollins, Director of Elections, 392-8019

Novina Wong,

City Clerk