Gwich'in Tribal Council to use online voting system in June election

Wherever Gwich'in live, they'll be able to vote in this summer's Gwich'inTribal Councilelection for president and vice-president, as long as they have an internet connection.

For the first time, the council will be using electronic voting to select the land claim organization's top leadership.

Chief Returning OfficerMary-Ann Rosssaid that since 2014's byelection, she hasbeen recommending that Gwich'in adopt electronic voting.

"We're connected so easily by our cellphones, our computers, our laptops, our iPads. I thought this was a great way to help with the election process," Ross said from her office at Inuvik's Capital Suites.

Ross' budget for the election is $135,000 and she anticipates holding the vote online would be cheaper than having paper or mail-in ballots.

"In previous elections, I would have to order the ballots. It costs money to print those ballots as well and send that out to our voting members outside of Canada. I think [online voting] would decrease the costs," Ross said.

Gwich'in have until May 18to register on the voters list or to change their contact information.

After May 24,eligible voters will receive letters and emails with instructions on how to vote and a unique PINthat they would be able to use to vote online or at polling stations in Gwich'in communities. Those polling stations will have computer terminals at which beneficiaries can vote.Election day is June 27, but members can cast their ballots as soon as they receive their PINs.

During the last byelection, almost 2,700 Gwich'in were eligible to vote but only 44 per cent cast a ballot.

The election office said it will also be hiring staff to reach out to elders who may not be comfortable with using computers, so that no one misses the opportunity to vote.

"The staff will be talking to them about the process and really show them what a computer looks like if they don't know," Ross said.

The tribal council is using Election Buddy to conduct the election and says that the system is encrypted and unlikely to be compromised.

"If you are used to online banking and the security features around that, we will be employing similar security features with this software as well," said Tony Devlin, director of communications for the Gwich'in Tribal Council.