In-person voting will occur over two days later this month. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

band election

Bumpy start as LLRIB rolls out electronic voting

May 12, 2020 | 12:51 PM

Monday was the first day Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB) voters could do so electronically, but it didn’t start as smoothly as organizers had hoped.

Electronic voting commenced May 11 at 8 a.m. and will close May 25 at midnight. Chief Electoral Officer Milton Burns said approximately 500 people voted on the first day, but some band members were unable to do so as an administrative error with One Feather prevented them from casting a ballot. The voting problem, however, was quickly addressed.

“What happened was our date of births were wrong,” Burns said. “They didn’t line up with the name of the people who were actually there, so we straighten that by noon and the rest of the day went really good.”

This marks the first time the LLRIB has used electronic voting in a general election since they have already done so last year as part of the land code referendum. Burns noted they had to check with legal services to ensure they could use the method as it isn’t included in the band’s Election Act. Electronic voting was brought in as a way to reduce the number of people at the polls later this month.

Throughout Canada and the United States, Burns added there are 7,500 members eligible to vote. One Feather, based in Vancouver, was supplied with a voters list and to register with them members have to provide their name, birth date and Treaty number. The company will then produce a personal identification number unique to the voter.

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“When you get that pin, it allows you to go in and vote,” Burns said. “On election date when its time for the paper vote, it will show me you have already voted and you can’t vote again.”

Burns believes more First Nations or other groups will turn to online voting because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he’s already heard from officials in British Columbia and Ontario about using One Feather, as well as the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nation, which has an election coming up in October.

With many new rules in place for in-person voting because of the virus, Burns is encouraging as many band members as possible to vote online.

“If you have the ability to electronically vote, we wish [you[ would because it will save time at the polls and we won’t be congested,” he said. “We want as many people as possible to vote electronic.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno