Any expectations of quick returns as a result of internet/telephone voting were dashed in Sarnia, at least, in Monday's municipal election.
It took an hour and 45 minutes for the winners to be announced at city hall Monday night.
Deputy City Clerk James Jenkins said the hold-up was primarily due to the decryption process, the number of voters, and the number of candidates.
"We have a decryption process where the clerk and the auditor each have half of the password," said Jenkins. "They have to come together and then it decrypts all of the votes in real time, so that took a little bit of time. A little bit more then the other municipalities."
Jenkins said they also had technical problems with the power point presentation of the results once they had them.
As well he says last-minute voters were still casting ballots at about 8:20 p.m. at the city help centres where people could e-vote in person with assistance if they needed it.
Mayor-elect Mike Bradley said there were good and bad things about paperless balloting, and to suggest the elderly wouldn't be able to handle online voting, is ageism.
He's happy to see more than a 10 per cent increase in voter participation -- 48.9 per cent, compared to 37.1 per cent in 2014 -- but he wants to know more about the cost of the election.
"We were told the costs would be $130,000 plus," said Bradley. "It came out in the last few weeks that the cost of this election is the same as the paper ballot, if not more, so that's a really important point."
Mayor Bradley said he also feels the public deserves the right to comment on using a paperless system.
Students in elementary and secondary schools in the city held a mock vote Monday, as part of the Student Vote program that teaches kids about the democratic process.
They elected Mike Bradley as mayor with 306 votes, compared to 155 for Anne Marie Gillis.
They also chose four of the eight city council winners, Mike Stark, Brian White, Terry Burrell and Bill Dennis.