Time to Vote: Advanced Polls Open to Canadians During Pandemic Elections | The Canadian News

The time has come to vote, that is, in person.

Millions of Canadians will be able to cast their votes at polling stations on Friday as advanced polls open across the country. Any eligible voter will have until September 13 to mark their ballots at a voting station on their trip as part of the advanced window.

Advanced voting is proving to be a popular method in Canadian elections, said Dugald Maudsley, a spokesman for Elections Canada.

He told Global News that in the 2019 elections, 4,840,300 voters went to the advanced polls, while 3,657,415 did so in 2015.

Given that the country is in a fourth wave of COVID-19, Maudsley said that participation in advanced surveys may increase again this time, but anything can happen.

“Often (the advanced polling stations) are not that full, they are not that busy and it is a way to get in efficiently and cast your vote,” he said.

“We are really telling people that voting in person at the advanced polls and on Election Day is still the simplest and most efficient way to vote.”

Canada has been in election mode since August 15 and party leaders have been busy touring the country in an effort to get voters on their side. The leaders participated in the first of two official debates Wednesday night, exchanging blows in French. The debate in English will take place on Thursday night and is expected to draw millions of viewers.

The debates take place at a time when some Canadians still don’t know who they are voting for. A new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found that 13 percent of respondents are undecided.

Those results also showed that nearly half of those voters, 47 percent, disliked either party, while 50 percent said there should be no elections at this time due to the pandemic.

“In a tight race like this … every vote counts, and I think we’ll see leaders spend a lot of time trying to woo undecided voters, because even a couple of points in their direction are going to prove favorable on election night,” Sean Simpson, Ipsos Vice President of Public Affairs, said in a recent Global News interview.

With the polls advanced here, Maudsley wants Canadians to know that voting in person will be safe during the fourth wave. He compared voting in person to visiting the grocery store, and voters can expect Elections Canada staff to follow all health protocols.

For example, he said Canadians can expect poll workers to wear masks and shields, and to stand behind Plexiglass. There will also be sanitation stations and social distancing will be reinforced.

“He really won’t be there for long once he’s signed up,” Maudsley said. “It really is a five minute process to vote.”

Advanced voting is essentially the opportunity to vote before Election Day on September 20, Maudsley said.

For those who want to vote early, Maudsley said they should bring their voter information card and a piece of identification to the seconded station for early voting. For those who have not yet received their voter card in the mail, they can find all the relevant information. on the Elections Canada website.

In terms of identification, he said voters should turn to what they have in their wallets, such as a driver’s license or a credit card.

“The other thing that will prove where you live may be a bill that you get on a monthly basis,” he said. “These days people don’t get them on paper anymore, so you can take your phone or a photocopy and show people the bill that shows your address.”

Voters can also cast their votes in person after the advanced polls close. Voting by special ballot at Elections Canada’s district offices has been open seven days a week, he added.

Elections Canada has been preparing for an influx of votes cast by mail in these elections. According to survey data, early in its planning for a pandemic, the agency estimated that between four and five million Canadians do so.

By mid-August, that number dropped to between two and three million. So far, Elections Canada has sent out 726,543 special ballots requested by mail, up from 55,000 requested in 2019.

The deadline to register for vote-by-mail is September 14 and can be done on the Elections Canada website. If Canadians decide to choose this method, Maudsley said they should be prepared.

“So we tell people, if you want to vote by mail, have a plan, because you need to give yourself time to get the ballot and then return the ballot to us,” he said, adding that it is up to each voter to send their ballot on time.

“If you are voting locally, which means you are in your constituency but you have decided to vote by mail, you have to return your ballot to your counting office before the end of the voting day, that is the deadline. “

Applicants will be asked about their citizenship, age, email address, home address, and postal address. The process can take up to 72 hours from the moment of application. Once submitted, voters can check the status of your online applications using a reference number that will be emailed to you.

Maudsley added that for Canadians who vote by mail outside of their trip, such as overseas residents, their ballots will return to Ottawa to be counted and must be there by 6 p.m. ET on Election Day.

In addition to voting, Maudsley is appealing to Canadians interested in registering to work at polling stations.

In some regions of Canada, specifically the greater Toronto Horseshoe area, Elections Canada is experiencing a staff shortage. Those areas include the Niagara and York regions. Anyone interested can know more online at Elections Canada.

“They get paid for an eight hour shift, they get paid overtime, they get paid for training, the full nine yards,” Maudsley said. “So it’s actually a great experience … and we’re looking for people.”

–With files from Sean Boynton