In case you need a little refreshing on Ontario elections, here's what you need to know.
When is the Ontario election?
Ontario announced that the election campaign will begin on May 4. Election day is Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Who is running in the Ontario election?
Currently, there are four major candidates running in the upcoming provincial elections to be premier:
- Premier Doug Ford for the Progressive Conservative Party.
- Steven Del Duca for the Ontario Liberal Party.
- Andrea Horwath for Ontario's New Democratic Party.
- Mike Schreiner for the Green Party of Ontario.
How do I vote?
Anyone who is registered to vote can cast their ballots right on election day at their assigned polling station anytime between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
But, outside of voting right on election day at your station, there are other ways to fulfill your civic duty.
Beat the rush and cast your vote at an advance voting location, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Under the Ontario Elections Act, 2021, advance polling stations can be open ten days before the elections.
You also don't have to cast your vote in person. Ontarians can submit an application to vote by mail six days before the election day on May 27 by no later than 6 p.m. Then, for mail-in ballots to be counted, Elections Ontario has to have your vote by 6 p.m. on June 2. *
Anyone interested to mail their votes in can submit an application through Elections Ontario's Vote By Mail application online, by downloading and printing an application or by picking up an application at your local election (a.k.a. returning) office.
How can I find out where I need to vote?
If you registered to vote, your voting card will be sent to your mailing box before election day, and it will tell you where your assigned voting station is.
During election season, you can find out where you need to vote through Elections Ontario's Voter Information Service.
Come elections, voters can find their electoral district by going through their homepage and typing in their postal code at their current address.
Or, you can find it without a postal code and look through their dropdown menu of all the electoral districts throughout the province.
How do I register to vote?
Ontarians can register to vote through Elections Ontario's eRegistration website.
Add all your information to the voter's list before the election, and then you are set to go.
The website can also be used to update or add any other necessary details — like if you've moved to another address or if you've changed your name — which will require one piece of identification that has your current residential address and your name.
You can add yourself to the voter's list when you get to the polls, too.
All you need is one piece of ID showing your name and current residential address, which can be anything government-issued like your driver's license or health card. Elections Ontario will also accept passports, student cards, birth certificates, and much more.
It does take a little bit longer to register right at the polls since you will have to fill out a form.
What do I need to bring to the polls?
Ontarians will have to bring one piece of ID with their name when hitting the polls come election day.
Don't stress if you didn't get your voter card in the mail, because you can still vote without it — just be sure to have an ID on you that also has your address listed.
What if I don't live in Ontario right now?
If you're out of the province when it's election season, you can still cast your vote by mailing it in (though you will need to register for that online through Elections Ontario's Vote By Mail application.)
You can add yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters. Anyone 18 years old and older who is temporarily living outside of the province can sign up, so long as they intend on returning to the province, have lived in Ontario for at least a year straight and haven't been out of the province for more than two years (with some exceptions.)
Absentee voters can sign up for the registry through Election Ontario's eRegistration website, or email their application with an attached copy of your ID.
What if I'm not old enough to vote?
Anyone who is 16 or 17 years old can actually still register to vote even though they're not quite yet old enough to go to the polls.
Teens at this age can add their names to the Ontario Register of Future Voters, which will automatically transfer names to the voters' list as soon as they turn 18.
*This article has been updated.
