Long line annoys voters

Town looks at solutions for 2014
By Trina Berlo Simcoe.com November 2 2010
WASAGA BEACH – Wasaga Beach clerk and returning officer Twyla Nicholson said her team did everything possible to move people through the polls quickly on Election Day but a new government rule requiring everyone to show identification and be matched to the voters list slowed the process and resulted in longer than usual lineups.
Nicholson said those working the polls made every effort to accommodate anyone who had difficulty standing in line, and moved any elderly people or those feeling anxiety to the front of the line.
She said the most memorable is the woman who showed up to vote even though she was in labour but insisted on casting her ballot before going to the hospital.
Nicholson said only 33 more voters came through on Election Day than in 2006 and despite having three extra touch-screen voting machines and hiring more staff, there was still a lineup.
She said although people claim there was more than one location in 2006 it is not the case. During the last municipal election all voting machines were setup at the RecPlex.
“We had a provincial and federal election in 2006 and 2007 which I think people are remembering because they had multiple locations,” said Nicholson. “So there is confusion there because of that.”
Wasaga Beach residents claim to have waited anywhere between 35 minutes and an hour on Election Day.
Melissa Turcic went to the RecPlex twice on Election Day but seeing the long lines decided not to vote.
“I was annoyed that there was really bad planning. We always vote,” she said.
She said she went to vote at 2 p.m. and saw about 100 people waiting in line. She left to do some shopping and returned one-and-a-half hours later and said it appeared the line had doubled.
Turcic said because she had her 11-year-old son with her, she was reluctant to stand in line for what she guessed would be an hour or so.
Her husband Rob was also deterred by the long line he encountered when he got off work that day and decided to head home instead of voting. 
Many people have reported having similar experiences, returning two or three times to find long line ups all day.
Others said there was nothing in place to accommodate the elderly who could not stand in line for extended periods.
“The last two or three days, all I’ve got is complaints about the election,” said councillor-elect Ron Anderson. “That line up was crazy.”
He said he heard from a number of people who visited the RecPlex several times on Election Day and found the line up to be too long so they left.
“When you look at our voter turnout, how many didn’t vote because of the lineup? I don’t know,” said Anderson.
He said he guesses it wouldn’t be a huge number, no more than a couple hundred or so.
“But our voter turnout is so low, yet Collingwood does mail-in voting and they get 48 per cent,” said Anderson.
Wasaga Beach had 27.4 per cent voter turnout.
Mayor Cal Patterson remarked on low voter turnout on election night.
“We had nine advanced polls and [turnout was] very low, probably somewhere between 800 or 900 voters less than the previous election. I think today with the lineup people gave up and walked away,” said Patterson.
Incumbent councillor Connie Gray was defeated in the election by 136 votes. She too expressed disappointment.
“I am however disappointed in the organization of Election Day. Hindsight is 20-20 and at this point we can only learn from the day and better plan for the next election. Unfortunately, the low voter turnout makes Wasagans seem un-political but in reality many people attempted to vote but turned away because of the lineups and long waits. Many more attempted several times that day to vote. I hope the town will learn from the experience and consider having more than one voting poll, mail-in votes, and a backup plan to revert to manual paper and pencil voting if necessary,” said Gray.
Nicholson acknowledged the wait was long but said Wasaga Beach was not alone.
“This year, yes, there was massive lineups. It was a long lineup for sure, absolutely, and there was no break in it whatsoever,” said Nicholson. “It is the same right across the province.”
She said surrounding municipalities, even those that had multiple locations had similar lineups.
Nicholson said not enough people checked the voters list and any changes had to be made at the polls.
“That slowed up the lines considerably, when everything was right, when the ID was there, the voters list information was correct – those people went through in seconds. It was very quick and the process was smooth,” she said. “The line kept on moving. It’s just that when there were changes to the voters list, or people needed to be added on or new properties created then it hung up the line and that is right across the province, that’s not just Wasaga Beach. Everybody dealt with the same thing. So the challenge is to take that and look at that for the next election and see what we can do differently and there’s certainly things we can do for the next election to see how we can try to make it better, try to improve on it for 2014.”
She said she will be looking into alternative voting methods and ways of improving the voters’ list.
Nicholson said she is reviewing all feedback from the community and the town will be inviting people to comment at some point in the future. Watch for a survey that will be posted on the town’s website at www.wasagabeach.com.