What to know about early voting in Ontario’s upcoming snap election

The provincial election is one week away and voters can now cast their ballots at advance polling stations.

Ontarians who want to cast their votes early in the upcoming election have technically been able to do so since Jan. 30 at local election offices. However, additional advance voting locations will be open from Feb. 20-22.

Traditionally speaking, there are 10 days of advance voting, but because this election was called early, Elections Ontario cut it down to three days, as per legislation.

Election Day is slated for Feb. 27. Here’s what Ontarians ages 18 and older need to know.

What do I need to vote?

Anyone who is not registered can add or update their information online to receive a voter registration card ahead of Election Day, which will be mailed out sometime by Saturday.

If you receive this card in the mail, bring it to the voting station as well as one piece of identification that has your name on it, like a health card, birth certificate or Canadian passport.

Ontarians who do not have a voter information card need to bring one piece of ID with their name and home address, which can include an Ontario driver’s licence, credit card statement, a school admission letter or transcript. Here is a full list of government-approved identification.

How can I vote early?

Advance voting locations will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

Voters can look up where the nearest polling station is by inputting their postal code or searching their electoral district through Elections Ontario’s website. Voters can also go to their local election office until 6 p.m. on Feb. 26, the day before Election Day.

Ontarians can also mail in their ballots, but they must apply to do so before Friday at 6 p.m. so they can receive their voting kit by mail in time. Write-in ballots must be submitted by 6 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

Ontarians who are unable to go to their voting station, local election office or require assistance to vote can request a home visit, which must be done by Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. Once approved, two election officials will deliver a voting kit to your home to assist you in voting.

How do I vote on Election Day?

Polling stations will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Feb. 27, with eligible voters being assigned to voting locations based on their home address.

What happens if I make a mistake on my ballot?

Elections Ontario says to mark an X in the circle beside a candidate’s name when filling in the ballot, with the exception of write-in ballots where voters will have to write the first and last name of the candidate of their choice.

“If you have made a mistake and marked your ballot incorrectly, you may return the incorrectly marked ballot to the election official,” Elections Ontario’s website reads, adding a new ballot will be issued. The election official will then write “cancelled” on the back of the incorrectly marked ballot and it will not be placed in the ballot box.

Ontarians have the right to decline their vote once they are handed a ballot—something that has to be done aloud. Declined ballots are then counted after polls close on election night, and counted toward the official results under “ballots declined by voters.”

With files from CP24’s Bryann Aguilar