Kimberley Kitteringham, City Clerk and Returning Officer, introduced and thanked the core 2018 Municipal Election Team comprised of: Nasir Kenea, Chief Information Officer, Rob Cole, Manager, Applications and GIS, Lyrae Ignacio, Client Advisor ITS, Martha Pettit, Deputy City Clerk, Andrea Berry, Senior Manager Corporate Communications and Community Engagement, Michael Blackburn, Senior Communications Advisor, Scott Chapman, Election and Committee Coordinator, Grace Lombardi, Legislative Coordinator, Hristina Giantsopoulos, Election and Committee Coordinator, Christine Aguila-Wong, Executive Assistant, Alida Tari, Manager Access & Privacy, Rose Cozis, Manager Contact Centre, and Contact Centre staff. She also recognized the following team members that are no longer working for Markham: Carlie Turpin, Manager of Elections, Josh Machesney, Election and Committee Coordinator and Chris Alexander, Supervisor, Licensing and Standards for their hard work and dedication.
Chair Jack Heath, on behalf of Council, recognized and acknowledged staff and offered sincere thanks to the Election Team for their support in the democratic process. Mayor Frank Scarpitti also offered thanks and congratulations to the Election Team.
Kimberley Kitteringham, City Clerk, Michael Blackburn, Senior Communications Advisor, Martha Pettit, Deputy City Clerk and Scott Chapman, Election and Committee Coordinator delivered a PowerPoint presentation entitled, "2018 Markham Municipal Election Post-Election Review". As part of the presentation, the City Clerk advised that the legislative framework for the conduct of municipal elections in Ontario is the Municipal Elections Act (the Act) and, that in accordance with the Act, the City Clerk has independent legislative authority over the administration of the election. Presenters responded to several questions from the Committee.
Al Pickard, Markham Resident addressed the Committee on the 2018 Municipal Election noting he will submit his comments in writing to the City Clerk.
The Committee discussed various aspects of the 2018 Markham Municipal Election including:
- Risk mitigation and voter fraud prevention;
- Supervised versus unsupervised voting;
- Absence of paper ballots on Voting Day;
- The accuracy of the Voting List;
- The number of voting places;
- The Candidate Contribution and Rebate Program.
In response to a question regarding whether or not a municipal council can mandate the use of paper ballots on Voting Day in addition to online voting, Claudia Storto, City Solicitor confirmed that under the Municipal Elections Act this decision would fall under the purview of the City Clerk/Returning Officer.