Early voting in federal election begins, even in ridings without official candidates

CTV News Edmonton's Nav Sangha has details about how you can vote in the upcoming federal election.

While the federal election is still weeks away, some Edmontonains have already voted, even in ridings without official candidates.

Gaelle Rossi is one of them. The resident of the northside Edmonton Griesbach riding, who became a Canadian citizen in August, cast her first ballot here on Tuesday.

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“I’ve been looking forward to doing it, and that’s why I got my citizenship was to vote, so it was a pretty cool feeling,” Rossi told CTV News Edmonton.

No candidates have been officially confirmed in her riding, but Rossi expects the person she voted for will run, so she wrote their name on her ballot.

Eligible voters can vote right now at one of 500 Elections Canada offices across the country. Early voting is open until April 22, and if the candidate isn’t registered yet, voters can still vote for them the same way Rossi did.

Elections Canada spokesperson Leanne Nyirfa said Tuesday voters need to put the correct name on a special write-in ballot, otherwise it will not be accepted.

“If you’re confident that person will be running in the election, you can choose to put that name if you like,” Nyifra told CTV News Edmonton.

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, says that voters in federal elections largely cast ballots for a party and for who is vying to become prime minister.

“There are people who will always vote Conservative no matter who the leader is. There are people who always vote Liberal depending on who the leader is. Some change their mind depending on who the leader is,” Bratt told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday. “But the actual individual candidate, that’s four-to-five-per-cent of people, and that only makes a difference in a very tight race.”

To vote by mail, voters must apply for a mail-in ballot kit by April 22. Advanced polling stations will run April 18-21. Election day is April 28.

Voters must be registered and show proof of their identity and address.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nav Sangha