Edmonton Citizens’ Jury on internet voting, Canada

A citizens' jury process was used in 2012 by the Centre for Public Involvement at the University of Alberta, in collaboration with the City of Edmonton, on the question: Should the City of Edmonton adopt Internet voting as an option in future general elections?

The jury process took place over a three-day period, involving about 20 hours’ work. Jurors were given an honorarium of $400 dollars and were provided with childcare, travel assistance, and meals. Eighteen jurors were selected using a stratified random selection method to ensure the jury reflected the city’s population and the community’s values and attitudes toward internet voting.

The Centre recruited academics to be on a committee that designed the deliberative process and information resources for the jury. The process was moderated by two independent facilitators and included presentations by expert witnesses, with time set aside for structured deliberations. On the last day, the jurors evaluated the evidence, moderated by both facilitators. This final session was closed, except to researchers and observers from Elections Canada and Elections BC.

In addition to the jury process, the wider project included a public voting security test, roundtable advisory meetings with stakeholders, and a series of online questionnaires. Six surveys were designed to measure public attitudes toward internet voting: two for the general public, two for jury participants (during and after the selection process), and two for citizens who participated in the roundtables. Taken together, these processes took place over a four-month period.

The final jury verdict, achieved by consensus, favoured introducing online ballots as an additional voting method. During the jury event, the Edmonton City Clerk made a formal commitment to follow through with the Jury’s verdict.