TORONTO -- This year's federal election is set to take place after the start of the school year. And as colleges and universities prepare for in-person learning, many students will be away from their hometowns on Election Day, which falls on Sept. 20.
But this year, Elections Canada isn't running special polling stations on campuses, as it did in 2015 and 2019, making it a more difficult for students to cast their ballots.
If you're a student planning to vote in the next federal election, here are your options:
VOTE VIA A SPECIAL BALLOT
If you're moving away for college or university and want to vote in your hometown riding, but can't travel back home for advance polls or Election Day, you can vote via a special ballot.
Between now and Sept. 14, you can show up at any Elections Canada office across the country and vote in whatever riding you consider your "home." Just be sure to bring your ID and proof of address.
You can also vote by mail. Elections Canada can mail you a voting kit if you fill out an online form or contact any Elections Canada office before Sept. 14. Voting by mail is also your only option if you're attending post-secondary school outside the country.
VOTE IN YOUR CAMPUS RIDING
Students can also choose to vote in the riding where their campus residence or student apartment is located on Election Day or during advance polls, which take place Sept. 10 to 13.
You'll need to show ID and proof of address when you arrive at the polling station. If you're living in residence on campus, you can ask your school to provide a letter of confirmation of residence. This can be used as your proof of address.
Elections Canada says its returning officers are working to set up polling stations on campuses for students living in residence, but there may be fewer campus polling stations due to the pandemic.
NO SPECIAL POLLING STATIONS ON CAMPUS THIS YEAR
Despite the federal election taking place after the start of the school year, Elections Canada won't be running the Vote on Campus program, which set up special polling stations on campuses.
The Vote on Campus program debuted during the 2015 federal election as a pilot project. Elections Canada set up polling stations across 39 post-secondary campuses across Canada, allowing students to vote whichever riding they consider their "home" even if they've moved away for school.
The program returned for the 2019 federal election, expanding to 109 campuses. But last fall, Elections Canada made the decision not to bring back the program for the next federal election, citing the pandemic as well as the uncertainty over when the election would be called.
"Without clear timelines to provide campus administrators on whom we rely to identify and secure the space required and help us recruit the election workers needed to deliver the program, and given the uncertainty at that time around students’ ability to be present on campus, we opted to instead reallocate resources to other areas where we could be confident that the benefits for electors, including students, would be maximized," said Elections Canada spokesperson Matthew McKenna in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca on Sunday.
Resources were instead reallocated to processing applications to vote by mail, McKenna said, which is expected to be a popular option amid the ongoing pandemic.
Elections Canada says it revisited that decision last July, while COVID-19 cases were dropping and campuses were preparing to welcome back students, and looked into implementing a scaled-down Vote on Campus program. However, given that the election was called so soon, the Vote on Campus plans were once again scrapped.
"This means we will not be able to divert capacity to the vote-on-campus program and are focused on ensuring students are well informed of their options," said McKenna.
However, Elections Canada says it vows to re-implement the Vote on Campus program for future elections.
"We thank students for understanding our need to make this difficult decision in these challenging times," McKenna said.
With files from CTVNews.ca's Rachel Aiello
