SYDNEY, N.S. -- Bernie Larusic says he always makes it a point to get out and vote during any election.

But this October, he will be casting a ballot from his home after Cape Breton Regional Council voted 8 to 3 in favour of approving electronic-only voting for the fall municipal election.

"I don't know how that's going to impact the senior community, because they are the ones who do most of the voting," Larusic said.

Larusic says some seniors don't have access to the internet or are not savvy when it comes to technology.

"I think they should have done what some of the councillors were taking about and delay, delay," Larusic said. "It's not going to kill the world by having the same people in for another period of time, while we get this straightened out."

The problem with that logic, according to Cape Breton political science professor Tom Urbaniak, is there's no guarantee when the pandemic will end.

He says the outcome of this election will depend on the candidates themselves.

"The extent to which the candidates can reach the voters by telephone, electronically, or by other means and tell the voters how and when to vote, that will be a major factor in the voter turnout this time," Urbaniak said.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Mayor Cecil Clarke says 49 per cent -- nearly half -- of the voter turnout during the last municipal election voted electronically in CBRM.

"(That) shows people have access and are using technology more," Clarke said. "With further access to tablets four years later, more people are connected and we have the resources to make sure if people need to vote or have accessibility issues, we can address that."

The municipal election will be held in October, and some are wondering if federal and provincial elections will adopt online voting moving forward.

"When you're dealing with a central elections authority, like Elections Canada or the elections agencies at the provincial level, the concern is, if one thing goes wrong, the whole system could fail and the legitimacy of the result province wide or nationwide could be in doubt," Urbaniak said.

Urbaniak says the stakes are much higher when it comes to security at the provincial and federal levels.

Meanwhile, Larusic says what's at stake locally is seniors' democratic right to cast a ballot.