Markham Receives Municipal Innovation Award for Leadership in Digital Democracy
London, Ontario, August 22, 2023 – The Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award Jury presented its highest award to The City of Markham for its approach to the 2022 Markham Municipal Election. The Plaque Award was presented to Kimberley Kitteringham, City Clerk, and Martha Pettit, Deputy City Clerk, at the 2023 AMO Conference in London, Ontario.
The City of Markham was Canada’s first municipality to vote online, delivering an online voting program for six consecutive municipal elections since 2003. Despite the City’s long track record, the 2022 municipal election presented new challenges, including voter fatigue, pandemic and supply chain pressures, and concerns about disinformation and lack of trust around election administration.
In response to these challenges, Markham used technology like artificial intelligence to streamline service delivery and help build trust in next-generation voting technology. The City’s suite of service enhancements included an on-demand eSignature platform for election registration, Canada’s first independent online vote verification technology, and a data-driven community engagement strategy.
Before the new eSignature platform was available, all candidate and third-party registration was done in person, which could take up to 90-minutes to complete. In 2022, all candidates registered online, improving processing times by 40%.
The 2022 election was the first in Canada to feature an online voting system that meets the standards of individual verifiability. After voting, each voter received a ballot submission receipt with a unique QR code. Using a new mobile app, Markham voters could scan their code and see a secure, time-limited preview of their ballot in the digital ballot box to privately verify that their choices were properly recorded. A post-ballot survey indicated that the City’s mobile vote verification app boosted confidence in online voting by 47%.
To ensure easy access to reliable information about the election, the City developed a community engagement strategy that leveraged virtual assistants to deliver front-line support, used web analytics to amplify no-cost organic advertising, and relied on analytics-based targeted marketing to issue paid ads in multiple languages. This strategic use of communications technology helped deliver Markham’s highest-ever online voter turnout with 93% of all ballots cast online.
"I am pleased to accept this municipal innovation award recognizing Markham’s leadership in municipal digital democracy," said Andy Taylor, the City of Markham’s Chief Administrative Officer. “By leveraging technology, including online registration for voters and candidates, Markham is breaking down barriers to participation in local democracy. With one of the most well-established online voting programs in North America, I’m confident that the City of Markham’s work will be helpful to municipalities across Canada.”
Like most Canadian municipalities, Markham doesn’t maintain a permanent election office. Every four years, a small staff team is temporarily mobilized to deliver an election for a voting population that spans the territory of four large provincial ridings. The results of Markham’s election innovations offer a business case for municipalities to begin exploring new approaches to managing local elections.
The P.J. Marshall Award is an annual competitive process to acknowledge municipalities who have had creativity and success in implementing new, innovative ways of serving the public. It is sponsored by AMO, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks & Treasurers of Ontario, the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships, the Municipal Finance Officers’ Association, and the Ontario Municipal Administrators’ Association.
In addition to the City of Markham, two other municipalities received plaque awards: the Municipality of Middlesex County for its transition to a fully automated, completely paperless e-permitting system for building services, and the City of Vaughan for its AI-based approach to managing local roads.
AMO works to make municipal governments stronger and more effective. Through AMO, Ontario’s 444 municipalities work together to achieve shared goals and meet common challenges.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact, 416-729-5425, lambie@redbrick.ca