In 2018 Minden Hills will see votes cast the same way they were during the 2014 election – that is by paper ballot telephone or Internet.

Internet and telephone voting was added as an option for the first time during the 2014 election and as a report from the township clerk shows had plenty of uptake.

“It was well-received” clerk Dawn Newhook told councillors as she presented the report during a Feb. 9 committee-of-the-whole meeting.

Seventy-four per cent of voters in the 2014 election voted by either telephone or Internet 26 per cent by traditional paper ballot.

Just more than 4700 residents voted in the last election a voter turnout rate of approximately 42 per cent.

Newhook’s report also showed that 106 voters in their 80s voted online along with 12 people in their 90s and the township’s sole voter aged 99 or older.

The cost for the 2014 election was about $59000 and according to the report the same combination of paper ballots plus telephone and Internet voting will cost approximately $63000 in 2018.

The cost for just a telephone/Internet election would have been about $50000.

“There’s not a lot of difference adding the paper ballot onto it” Newhook said

“I think it’s important to have at least two options” said Deputy-reeve Cheryl Murdoch adding that traditional paper ballot needed to be one of them.

“To me it’s a small cost for democracy” said Reeve Brent Devolin.