Is nobody else shocked by the voting system used for the Toronto Mayoral election today? In this day and age (excuse the cliche) you should walk in, swipe your driver's license, or health card, or approved voters card, and tap a screen a few times to vote. Further, if you want to improve dismal turnout numbers, put the damn thing online - with obvious safeguards in place - and have an in-person option for all the luddites amongst the electorate.
For those unaware of the brutal process today: you walked in (to wherever you were voting) and were directed to one of many lines hosted by a volunteer with a list of names for every eligible voter in the ward. After an ID check, the volunteer crossed your name off of the list and gave you an anonymous voting card. On the card you are asked to fill in the two ends of an arrow with a marker for the candidates (mayor, council member, trustee) of your choice. Are you kidding? This is the best we've got?
When my mother went to vote she discovered that her name was already crossed off of the list. A volunteer had made an error and crossed her name. She was eventually allowed to vote, but only after causing a stink. Is this not the most primitive of voting systems? Even the Iraqis, with the inked fingers, got it better (forgetting the violence of course). A monkey could game the system, all you would have to do is walk in and ask for a voter's card from a different desk, where your name would be clear as day. Maybe the volunteers would notice a discrepancy later, maybe not. The fact that a volunteer accidently crossed my mother's name gives me little confidence. This process was just the icing on the proverbial cake of an absolutely terrible mayoral race.
Best of luck to Mayor Ford.
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