Sarnia council is being asked to adopt a hybrid voting model for the 2026 municipal and school board election.
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley likes the recommendation, which offers both traditional paper ballots and internet voting.
"I'm pleased that we're not bringing back telephone voting because that was a disaster," said Bradley. "I think what's being offered... Yes, there's a higher expense to paper ballots, but it's worth it. We had a significant decrease in turnout in the last election, as was the case everywhere, our [voter turnout] dropped from over 50 per cent down to 40 per cent. So, the more [voting] means we can offer people is the price of democracy."
Bradley said paper ballots and electronic voting have both received good reviews from the public.
"I would point out that both federal and provincial elections are still paper ballots, because it's pretty well secure. Internet voting does have its challenges, but it was good for the public and you could be outside the community and vote. I think it's good to have that option," he said.
In 2022, nearly 22,000 total votes were cast. Close to 17,000 voted by internet and just over 5,000 voted by paper ballots in person.
In 2018, a total of 48.9 per cent of the eligible Sarnia population voted online and by telephone.
The recommendation for next year will be considered during city council's regular meeting on Monday, February 10.