OTTAWA — Canadians planning to vote in upcoming federal byelections have until Tuesday to apply for a special ballot. Three byelections are set for Aug. 31 in the ridings of North Vancouver-Capilano, Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec and Beaches-East York in Toronto to replace members of Parliament who have left elected office. Special ballots are used for voters who wish to cast their vote by mail or at an Elections Canada office, and applications can be completed online or in person. Elections Canada says voters who request a special ballot 10 days or less before election day should plan to return it in person at their local Elections Canada office. The byelections are to replace former Liberal cabinet minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who resigned his Vancouver seat in June to become Canada’s ambassador to the European Union and Nate Erskine-Smith resigned his Toronto in seat in July. The third vacancy came after Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed Conservative MP Richard Martel to the Senate in July, prompting the resignation of his Chicoutimi-Le Fjord seat. Elections Canada’s website says more than 3,450 special ballot voting kits have already been distributed upon request in the three ridings, and more than 2,150 were returned by Aug. 20. More than 1,000 kits were requested and sent to voters living outside Canada, and 152 of those have been returned. -With files from David Baxter Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
