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Clerk, candidate correspond on voter lineups

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In Wasaga Beach
Nov 13th, 2010
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Forwarded by Steven Fishman November 13 2010
From: Steven Fishman [mailto:voteforsteve@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 12:25 AM
To: Twyla Nicholson
Cc: George Vadeboncoeur
Subject: Question
Twyla
During the day I was receiving complaints from voters that the line-ups to vote we way too long at 45 minutes plus in some cases. Who’s decision was it to have just one voting location when we had I believe 3 locations in 2006. Voters in some cases just gave up and walked away due to the long line-ups. With only 27% voter turnout, the lowest in Simcoe County why only 1 location?
I look forward to your response, and that of the town.
Regards
Steven Fishman

On Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 11:05 AM, Twyla Nicholson <clerk@wasagabeach.com> wrote:
Hi Steven,
Thank you for your email.  It is the Clerk’s decision regarding voting locations and the management and administration of the Election.  The 2010 voting location was the exact same as 2006 – there was only 1 location at the RecPlex in 2006, which worked well.   With multiple voting locations on Election Day brings multiple challenges at a much higher cost to the taxpayer.  When talking with voters in the lineup it took approximately 3 minutes from the end of the line to the door – it took them approximately 30 minutes to get in and out.  Yes, some walked away but they also had 9 advance voting days in various locations around the Beach to take advantage of that were well advertised in the paper, on the radio, on television, on the website, on advertising devices, and on the voter cards.  Yes, we had only 27% turnout; in 2006 we had 31%. We will be analyzing the challenges we experienced in the 2010 election and exploring opportunities for improvement for the 2014 election.
Twyla Nicholson, CMM111
Town Clerk
Town of Wasaga Beach

From: Steven Fishman <voteforsteve@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 26, 2010 at 11:55 AM
Subject: Re: Question
To: Twyla Nicholson <clerk@wasagabeach.com>
Cc: George Vadeboncoeur <cao@wasagabeach.com>, Mariane McLeod <marianem@977thebeach.ca>, “Gennings, Mike” <MGennings@simcoe.com>, Shawn Giilck <sgiilck@theenterprisebulletin.com>, Ian Adams <iadams@theenterprisebulletin.com>
Twyla
Thank you for your quick response. While voters leaving would not have changed the final result of the election, you admit that some voters walked away. Having worked for a city government for the past 8 years the goal during any election time is to make sure that the voters are processed in a timely fashion. To use the excuse that you had 9 advance polls and you advertise these all over the place is a lame excuse in my books, as it looks like you are blaming the voters for not coming out to the advance polls. I lived here in 2006 and you had more than 1 location on election day. I believe the other location was at the Wasaga Stars Area, or at Birchview Dunes. You knew after the first weekend of advance polls that the numbers were much lower than in 2006, and you should have had another location available to the residents that live in the east end of town.
As the Clerk of the town you should have forseen that voter turnout on election day would be higher, and planned accordingly. Doing the math you could only process about 3100 voters in the 10 plus hours that the polling station was open. Multiple locations, or at least another location could have resulted in a much higher voter turnout. Seniors and parents with kids can’t and should not wait in line for 45 minutes to an hour before they are able to vote. Residents were calling me during the day saying that they drove by the RecPlex and the line-up was out the door and to the end of the building most of the day, and they decided just to drive away and not vote because of the line-up and not being able to find a parking space.
Not as a former candidate, but as a resident and a voter I expect better from your department during election time, and what took place is unacceptable not just in my eyes but in the eyes of all those voters who just walked away on election day.

 

 

 

 

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