Duane Hicks
The Elections Ontario returning office for the Kenora-Rainy River riding opened last week in the Senic River Mall on Second Street East.
And while election day isn’t until Oct. 6, it already is a beehive of activity.
Returning officer Ian Simpson said staff are busy right now revising the list of electors to make sure they have the right people at the right addresses.
This is in anticipation of Notice of Registration Cards going out Sept. 14-20, with advance polls to be open Sept. 21-30.
Simpson noted this is the first time in recent memory the returning office hub has been located in Fort Frances, not Kenora. This decision was made after Simpson, who lives here, was appointed to the position last fall.
Having the returning office here is a benefit to the local community.
“It enhances our local profile,” Simpson noted. “We’ve hired people, we’re approaching local businesses for supplies and products.
“And it’s got to help improve the service voters receive in this area.”
Simpson said he’s hired 20-25 people here so far, and is looking for more.
“The good thing about that is we’re hiring from across the spectrum of the labour force,” he remarked.
“We have all kinds of people in here.
Simpson added recruitment officer Norm Guenette is “doing a great job.”
Guenette has been in contact with local employment services, and hired several people through NCDS, as well as through word-of-mouth and applicants coming into the returning office.
“We’re accepting applications coming in at the door,” said Simpson. “We’re hiring, on a short-term basis, quite a few people.”
“We’ve had a tremendous response from young people, too, that are gaining a valuable experience,” noted election clerk Mark Kowalchuk.
“There’s an election every set number of years, and these people will bring skill sets to the next election,” he reasoned.
The local returning office has satellite offices in Kenora, Dryden, Red Lake, and Sioux Lookout.
The Elections Ontario office here is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sundays from noon-5 p.m. during the campaign.
Voting made easy
Meanwhile, Simpson said Elections Ontario’s mission this election is making voting as easy as possible, including providing the public with as many chances as possible to cast their ballot as well as providing assistive voting technology to those who need it.
Electors could vote by special ballot at their local returning office/satellite office starting last Thursday.
They have 22 days (until Oct. 5) to vote by special ballot in person, or 17 days (up until Sept. 30) to vote by mail.
Special ballot is a method of voting that allows electors unable to go to the polls on election day, or stop by one of the advance polls in their area, to still be able to cast a ballot.
“They can vote out of town, they can vote out of province, they can vote out of the country,” noted Simpson.
“It’s just got to go through the special ballot process.”
Special ballot applications can be picked up at the returning office, or downloaded through the Elections Ontario website at www.wemakevotingeasy.ca
After they’re filled out, applications can be returned to the returning office by mail or dropped off there.
Those who need help with the special ballot process also can phone the local office at 274-2706.
Simpson said this is the first time a provincial election has featured special ballots, although they have been used in the past one or two federal ones.
There also is a big push towards accessibility for all this election, added Simpson.
For example, he sent people out last fall to inspect 131 voting locations across the riding and ensure they were wheelchair accessible, or would be in time for the upcoming election.
“We saw sites that were ready for business, and some that required some serious attention,” noted Kowalchuk.
People with disabilities will have 15 days to vote with assistive voting technology (Sept. 21-Oct. 5).
During that period, returning offices and satellite offices will have assistive voting tools available that feature audio headphones, tactile buttons, large keypads marked with Braille, paddles, and a “sip and puff” device.
“Of course, they can still bring a friend or support person,” said Simpson. “But the whole assistive technology approach is to allow people to vote by themselves and not have to bring a friend.
“The main emphasis is on dignity and privacy,” he stressed. “People have a right to vote with dignity, and they have a right to vote in private.”
On election day (Oct. 6), all voting locations:
•will have magnifiers, Braille ballot templates, and other tools to assist voters who are blind or with vision loss;
•will provide pens and pads to help electors who are deaf, deafened, or hard of hearing to communicate; and
•will provide the elector the opportunity to book a sign language interpreter, paid by Elections Ontario through the Canadian Hearing Society’s Ontario Interpreting Services, to be with you at your voting location.
If the elector has a disability that prevents him or her from going to a voting location, Elections Ontario even will send someone to their home to help them vote.
There also will be mobile polls going out to the extended care facilities and hospitals in the riding.
“We are very serious about customer service,” Simpson stressed.