Elections Ontario has recognized that post-secondary school students are a mobile population. We also understand from our outreach activities that students are often confused about how to vote in a provincial election and are not aware of their options.
Over the past year, we have been working with organizations that represent post-secondary students in Ontario. Among a number of suggestions, these groups expressed the need for a general information document on how to vote at ‘home’ (i.e. where their parents live) or at ‘school’. They wished to circulate this information regardless of when an election might be called. We provided an electronic document that has now been circulated to all colleges and universities across the province.
These organizations also expressed two strong desires on behalf of student voters:
- That students have the opportunity to vote on campus (provided they reside on campus)
- Campus registration events on all campuses that have a student residence
To meet these requests, Elections Ontario has agreed that if an election is called during the post-secondary school year:
- We will target revise all student residences, and
- For every university and college campus in the province with student residences on campus, we will provide a voting location
During an election, we will make posters available to these student organizations to distribute to all campuses in the province. These will provide basic voting information and will direct students to their student union or to our web site and Contact Centre for more detailed information.