Q&A: Why we’re still counting federal election ballots by hand [Video]

When Londoners voted in the federal election on Monday, they likely noticed there wasn’t an electronic tabulator when they cast their ballot.

While electronic voting is used in the Ontario election and by other countries around the world, Elections Canada continues to use the simple ballot box. For insight into why votes are still counted by hand, London Morning host Andrew Brown spoke with Aleksander Essex, an associate professor of software engineering at Western University.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Andrew Brown: So what do we know about why Elections Canada is still doing the paper ballot in the box?

Aleksander Essex: Well, that’s a great question for the chief electoral officer, and they have, I’m sure, their reasons. But I think one comment made in a recent CBC interviewgives us some insight. They described their method of vote counting as “open to scrutiny.” That means independent …