Online voting is something that can really increase participation, Christy Clark, Liberal leadership candidate, in a YouTube video on her website.
The Internet has the answer for just about every question. But early reports from the field indicate the Internet is not the panacea for the problem of B.C.'s rapidly dropping turnout rate in provincial elections.
It's not a matter of intentions. A survey for Elections BC after the 2009 provincial election found that 94 per cent of British Columbians said they intend to vote, 89 per cent said voting was easy and they knew what they need to know in order to vote in a provincial election.
But only 51 per cent of eligible voters showed up at the polling stations, down from 58 per cent four years earlier. In some ridings, the turnout was much worse. In Vancouver-False Creek, which includes many of Vancouver's new downtown residential towers, only 38 per cent of eligible voters came out. Liberal Mary McNeil won with 15,117 votes in a riding with 43,833 eligible voters.
The results in Peace River North, a riding in northeast B.C. that includes the cities of Fort St John and Fort Nelson, were even more dismal. Liberal Pat Pimm won with 3,992 votes in a riding that has 28,548 eligible voters. Only 33 per cent eligible voters cast a ballot.
B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark's solution to low turnout was online voting. She said she would appoint a panel to review online voting and, if possible, introduce changes before the next election. Her proposal was endorsed by leadership candidates Kevin Falcon and Mike de Jong.
Governments around the world have considered the switch to online voting over the past decade. A comparative assessment of electronic voting in three Canadian municipalities and in Europe was discussed at a workshop at Carleton University last year. The assessment is posted on the Elections Canada website.
The theoretical benefits of online voting can be quite attractive. Internet voting can make the process easier, lower the cost of voting and eliminate lineups at polling stations. It can also increase accessibility for persons with disabilities, illness, those away on travel or at university, in the military, or even single parents juggling too many demands on their time. Young people under the age of 34 say they are more likely to vote if they can do so online.
But the risks cannot be overlooked. Computer viruses and hacker-orchestrated "denial of service" attacks could compromise an election. Online voting could increase opportunities for fraud by allowing someone to vote on behalf of another person, for coercion or vote buying.
Also, online voting would highlight the "digital divide" between those with high-speed Internet at home - most likely people with higher incomes - and those who have a slower or no connection. Online voting could stratify voters by income, education, gender, geography, race and ethnicity, the assessment found.
On the issue of voter turnout, the research was inconclusive. The United Kingdom has not consistently noted increases in turnout in elections where online voting was an option, although Estonia and Geneva have.
In Canada, the results have also been mixed. Markham, Ont., was the first municipality in the country to introduce electronic voting in a bid to increase turnout. The option was available on a trial basis, for advance polls only. The turnout at advanced polls in Markham's municipal election in 2003 rose significantly, but the overall turnout remained unchanged.
Similarly, online voting in advance polls had no noticeable effect on turnout in Peterborough, Ont., in 2006. However, more people voted in a municipal by-election in Halifax in 2009 that offered online voting. The research so far shows the political leaders may need more than online voting to bring people back into the democratic process.