Poll opening delays followed by technical issues prompt Gatineau to extend voting hours 

Sophie Demers

The polling station at École des Belles-Rives opened half an hour later on Sunday morning as residents waited to cast their vote in the municipal elections. Later, it was revealed that the delay was caused by an election official who passed away the night before. The polling station opened half an hour later than scheduled at 10:30 am.

Later in the day, there were technical issues with the computer system at various polling stations despite the system being tested the day before. This forced poll workers to rely on a manual system which caused some issues for voters trying to cast their vote.

Gatineau’s election chair, Véronique Denis, held a press release at 4 pm on voting day announcing polls would remain open until 8:30 pm, half an hour later than planned, to compensate for earlier delays.

It is suspected that there were errors in the databases made by the system suppliers. The city says they will investigate further.