With the polling day approaching, the City of Penticton is taking steps to reassure voters about the safety and accuracy of the electronic voting machines the city uses.
Members of the public interested in the process by which votes are collected and counted on Oct. 20 can attend a demonstration of the vote counting machines on Oct. 11 from 2 to 3 p.m. in council chambers at Penticton City Hall.
“Curiosity around how vote counting machines are set-up and work is common. To address frequently asked questions and clear-up any confusion between machines used in Penticton vs. other communities, provinces or countries, the City of Penticton will provide a step-by-step overview of how our machines work”, said Laurie Darcus, chief elections officer.
In past elections, a few people have questioned the vote counters, which Penticton has used since 1999. The claims have ranged from their use preventing observation of the vote count to the possibility of hacking the machines.
Related: Resident says voting machines a threat to democracy
The city has a number of measures in place to ensure the security of the machines and since the vote counting machines are not network-enabled, there is no possibility of remote hacking via the internet or other channels.
Related: Penticton council votes down manual vote counts
Steve Kidd
Senior reporter, Penticton Western News
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