You can vote at the polling station set up for your municipality:
- Urban municipalities may have a polling place in each ward.
- Rural municipalities (RMs) may have a polling places in each division.
- Resort villages have the option to establish a polling place outside the boundaries of the resort village.
Check the Notice of Poll for the location of your polling place. The polling station is open from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.
You will be required to provide proof of identity to vote (See Appendix D, Table 1 (page 78) in The Local Government Election Regulations, 2015). Instructions on how to vote will be posted at the polling station. If you need help, the Deputy Returning Officer who gives you your ballot will assist you. Majority of municipalities use a Voter Registration Form as their poll book. This form will assist you in knowing if you are an eligible voter.
Municipalities may make special provisions to accommodate voters with limited mobility by providing mobile polls and curbside voting. Information on these methods of voting is available from the Returning Officer.
At the polling station, the names of the candidates for mayor/reeve and councillors are listed on the ballots for each office. Generally, the names will be in alphabetical order although council may have earlier provided for random or rotational order. The candidate's occupation, if any, is printed beneath the candidate's name.
- Urban municipalities (cities, towns, villages and resort villages)
Mayors are elected at large by all voters. If you live in an urban municipality, you may vote for the mayor, and no more than the stated number of councillors.
- Rural municipalities (RMs)
If you live in an RM, you can vote for the reeve and for one division councillor. Councillors are elected only by voters qualifying to vote in that division. Your property tax notice contains information about the division in which you are entitled to vote.
Voting occurs by making a distinct "X" in the space beside the candidate's name. The ballot is secret.
Advance poll
Voting at an advance poll is the same as a regular poll.
- Cities, towns and villages are required to have an advance poll.
- RMs and resort villages are required to have either an advance poll or a mail-in ballot.
Advance polls operate during the weeks immediately before Election Day. The locations and hours of all advance polls are listed on the Notice of Advance Poll, advertised in your municipality. This information is also available from the Returning Officer, at your municipal office.
Voting by mail (Mail-in ballot)
Your municipality may provide opportunities to vote by mail. Contact your municipal office to learn if this option is available.
Secrecy of vote
Every election official, candidate or agent of a candidate in attendance at a polling place shall adhere to the principle of secrecy of vote and sign an oath of office. Many of the offences related to secrecy of vote are described in sections 165 to 185 of The Local Government Election Act, 2015.
Agents and candidates
No candidate, agent or other person shall canvass or solicit votes in a polling place or within 100 metres of the building where the poll is held when the polls are open or make any communication to a person intending to vote otherwise than through the Deputy Returning Officer.
A candidate and two of his/her agents may be at each poll with the exception of mobile polls. As well, a candidate or one of his/her agents may be present during the counting of the ballots.
Candidates or agents have the right to object to the eligibility of a voter. Direct any objections with respect to a voter's eligibility to the deputy returning officer, not to the voter. Voters that have completed and signed their voter's declaration stating they are an eligible voter will receive a ballot to vote, even if there is an objection.