Ways to Vote

You can vote in person on election day from 9 AM to 9 PM (Eastern Time) at the voting location assigned to you based on your current residential address.

1. When you arrive at a voting location, you will be asked to show your ID to an election official who will check if you are registered on the voters list. If you are not on the list, the election official will add you to the voters list and ask you to sign a declaration.
2. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
3. You will go behind a voting screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name, and return the completed ballot to the box.
4. In a voting location with technology, you will place your marked ballot in to the secrecy folder and take it to an election official operating a tabulator. In a voting location without technology, you will fold your ballot and deposit it yourself into a ballot box.

You can vote at any of the advance voting locations in your electoral district. Advance voting locations are open from 10 AM to 8 PM (Eastern Time).

1. When you arrive at the voting location, you will be asked to show your ID to an election official who will check if you are registered on the voters list.
2. If you are not on the list, the election official will add you to the voters list and ask you to sign a declaration. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
3. You will go behind a voting screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name, and return the completed ballot to the ballot box.
4. You will place your marked ballot in to the secrecy folder and take it to an election official operating a tabulator.

You can vote in person at your returning office from the day after an election in your electoral district has been called until 6 PM the day before election day.

1. When you arrive at the returning office, you will be asked to show your ID to an election official. You will be asked to complete an application form to register for special ballot and take a declaration.
2. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
3. You will go behind a voting screen to mark your ballot. Return the completed ballot to the ballot box.

To vote by mail, you will need to complete a Vote by Mail application and provide a copy of at least one piece of government-issued ID.

You can apply to vote by mail:

• using our online Vote by Mail application
• by downloading and printing an application

If you choose to print your application, you must submit your signed and completed application form, along with a copy of one government-issued proof of name and residence (such as a driver’s licence, Ontario Photo ID Card) or one government-issued proof of name and one proof of name and residence from a non-government entity (such as a utility bill or pay stub), in one of two ways:

• Email to sb@elections.on.ca
• Mail to Elections Ontario, Special Ballot, 51 Rolark Drive, Toronto, Ontario M1R 3B1

We must receive your application by 6 PM (Eastern Time) six days before election day.

Once your Vote by Mail application has been reviewed and approved, a voting kit with a ballot will be mailed to you at the mailing address provided.

You can use the prepaid envelope to return your voting kit or you can drop it off at your returning office. If you are outside of Canada, you will be responsible for the international postage.

We must receive your completed voting kit by 6 PM (Eastern Time) on election day to be counted.

You can track the status of your voting kit using the confirmation code received after submitting your application. If you provided an email address when applying, your confirmation code was also emailed to you. 

You can request to vote by home visit if:

• you are unable to go to your voting location because of a disability;
• you are unable to read or write;
• you are unable to complete an application form; and/or
• you are someone who requires assistance.

Two election officials will bring a voting kit to your home to assist you in voting. You will need to show one piece of ID and complete the application form before receiving your ballot.

You will write the first and last name of the candidate of your choice on the write-in ballot, and you will fold your ballot and place the ballot in the envelopes as indicated before returning it to the election official.

To request a home visit, use our Voter Information Service to find your returning office contact information after an election has been called.

As part of our three-day hospital program, election officials visiting participating hospitals during a general election will bring voting kits to the hospital to give electors temporarily hospitalized the opportunity to vote.

You will need to show one piece of ID and complete the application form before receiving your ballot. You can use your hospital bracelet as proof of name and address.

You will write the first and last name of the candidate of your choice on the write-in ballot, and you will fold your ballot and place the ballot in the envelopes as indicated before returning it to the election staff.

For participating hospitals, use our Voter Information Service to find your returning office contact information after an election has been called.

If you do not have a permanent address you can still vote during a by-election or general election. The place where you have returned to most often to eat or sleep in the past five weeks is considered to be your address.  

1. If you do not have ID showing both your name and residential address, the administrator of your shelter, food bank, or community health care facility that you use most often will provide you with a Certificate of Identity and Residence form. 
2. Both you and the administrator must sign the form. You will use this form as your ID when you go to vote. 
3. Your administrator will find your assigned voting location using our Voter Information Service and will write your voting location information on the form.
4. You will take this form to your assigned voting location and give it to the election official. The election official will collect the form from you and issue you a ballot to vote.

Studying in Ontario

If you are an eligible elector studying in Ontario but living away from home for school, you have two options for where to vote:

1. In the electoral district for your permanent residential address (your home address); or
2. In the electoral district for your address while attending school.

You will need to show ID to vote. Please note, on-campus voting is only for students living on campus.

Studying outside of Ontario

If you are an eligible elector studying outside Ontario, you can still vote:

1. Vote by mail; or
2. Add yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters

Being on the Register of Absentee Voters means that you will automatically be sent a voting kit to vote by mail whenever an election in your electoral district is called.

As a member, or family member of a member, of the Canadian Forces, living outside of your electoral district, you can still vote:

1. Vote by mail; or
2. Add yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters

Being on the Register of Absentee Voters means that you will automatically be sent a voting kit to vote by mail whenever an election in your electoral district is called.

As a person, or family member of a person, in the service of the Government of Canada or Government of Ontario you can:

1. Vote by mail; or
2. Add yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters

Being on the Register of Absentee Voters means that you will automatically be sent a voting kit to vote by mail whenever an election in your electoral district is called.

Marking your ballot

When you go to your voting location, an election official will present you with a ballot, which will include a list of candidates running for election in your electoral district. You will then go behind a voting privacy screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name.

When you go to your returning office voting location, an election official may present you with a write-in ballot. You will write the first and last name of the candidate of your choice on the write-in ballot, and you will fold your ballot and deposit it yourself into a ballot box.

If you make a mistake

If you have made a mistake and marked your ballot incorrectly, you may return the incorrectly marked ballot to the election official. The election official will cancel the ballot and reissue you a new ballot. The election official will then write “cancelled” on the back of the ballot. Your ballot will not be placed in the ballot box but in an envelope for cancelled ballots.

Cancelled ballots will be counted after the polls close on election night but are not part of the official results.

Declining your ballot

Ontario’s election law allows voters to decline their ballot. To decline your ballot, tell the election official that you are declining your right to vote when they hand you a ballot. This is a public process done out loud.

The election official will mark “declined” on the back of the ballot. Your ballot will not be placed in the ballot box but in an envelope for declined ballots.