Sarnia council will consider approving a hybrid voting system for the Fall 2022 municipal election Monday, that's estimated to cost $600,000.
Council delayed making a decision in December because the costs weren't known.
Mayor Mike Bradley supports the hybrid approach.
"After all the fallout from the last election, I think the recommendation is an excellent one," said Bradley. "It brings together internet voting with paper ballots and it gives the public those choices and that was the biggest complaint in the last election. As we move forward and we deal with COVID, it's my hope that we will be able to run a regular election."
He also thinks it's worth the cost.
"Council this year was considering putting $800,000 away to dredge a creek. So, when you look at this cost and the cost of democracy, it's the most precious thing we have and it's also the one time, every four years, the public gets to decide in Sarnia the direction of the city and we need to do it right."
Mayor Bradley appreciates what the election committee has recommended.
"I think there's a lot of good things in the report from the election committee, which was a first for Sarnia, that was citizens giving advice. I agree totally, with eliminating the telephone voting option, it did not work last time and people just didn't like it."
The hybrid system would include online voting in the seven days preceding election day and voting by paper ballot on election day.
It's also recommended there be no council meetings during election campaigns, except in the event of an emergency.