Canada/Quebec City and Lévis to serve as laboratory for municipal elections
As the municipal campaign gets underway today, Quebec City and Lévis will be testing new tools to make it easier for voters to cast their ballots. The former will post information about the candidates on its website, while the latter will use ballots featuring photographs of the candidates for mayor and councillor.
In Quebec, the Elections Act provides for municipalities to test new ways of doing things as part of pilot projects to ensure the evolution of electoral practices.
These pilot projects are made possible by an agreement between participating cities, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the Chief Electoral Officer.
Québec City has volunteered to take part in a pilot project overseen by Elections Québec, which involves disseminating a showcase of information about candidates for the positions of councillor and mayor.
Starting on October 10, one week after the close of the nomination period, the names of candidates will be posted at ville.quebec.qc.ca/elections (new window), along with a photograph and a brief description of their program.
This will give each candidate the opportunity to introduce themselves and their main ideas to voters in their district. Candidates will be able to choose whether or not to participate in the showcase, and will be solely responsible for the content they submit for publication.
Elections Québec spokeswoman Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet explains that the initiative aims to simplify research for voters by enabling them to find information on candidates and their main ideas in one place, so that they can make an informed choice.
Lack of information
When voters who don't vote are surveyed after an election, one of the reasons given is that they lack information on municipal issues, as well as on the parties, candidates and their ideas," saysMs. St-Arnaud-Drolet in an interview with Radio-Canada.
With the showcase project, we hope to stimulate interest in municipal politics, but also, of course, encourage electoral participation.
A quote from Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet, spokesperson, Élections Québec
Voter turnout in municipal elections is declining in Quebec. In the 2021 election, it stood at 38.7%, compared with 44.8% in 2017 and 47.2% in 2013.
Elections Québec will also allow municipalities that wish to do so to use a new ballot model that includes a photograph of each candidate, as has been seen in provincial elections since 2012.
Once again, the idea is to promote access to the vote," explains Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet, "this time by making it easier for voters to identify the person they're voting for.
Better candidate recognition
In particular, people with reading difficulties will benefit from being able to identify the candidate's face. These are the same faces we see on the various election signs, on social media and when candidates go door-to-door," says the spokeswoman.
Candidates will be required to submit a printed photograph with their nomination papers. If authorized by the returning officer, it may be in electronic format. For the photograph to be accepted, it must meet the standards set by Elections Québec.
Some fifty municipalities, including the City of Lévis, have raised their hands in favor of testing ballots with photographs. Its city council voted in favor of a resolution to this effect on July 14.
In the greater Quebec City area, in addition to Lévis, Pont-Rouge (Capitale-Nationale) is taking part in the pilot project, as are four other municipalities in Chaudière-Appalaches: Laurier-Station, Saint-Janvier-de-Joly, Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud and Sainte-Marie.
All these towns, with the exception of Lévis and Sainte-Marie, are also taking part in the pilot project for an information showcase featuring candidate profiles.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
