How to cast your federal election vote right now in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County
Anyone can visit their riding's returning office to cast a ballot in person
The federal election is two weeks old and at this point, there may be a number of people who remain undecided on who to cast their vote for on Sept. 20.
But some people may have already made up their mind and are eager to make their mark on the ballot.
There are three ways people can vote before election day.
Riding returning office
Each riding has a returning office where people can go and cast a special ballot before 6 p.m. on Sept. 14.
"If people want to vote right away, there's a great thing called the special ballot," said Réjean Grenier, a spokesperson with Elections Canada.
When you vote by special ballot, Grenier says you should be aware there will not be a list of candidates to choose from, but rather a blank space for you to write the name of the candidate getting your vote. You don't have to write the party the candidate is running for, but it's OK if you do.
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However, Elections Canada notes, people cannot just write the party name on a special ballot — it must be the first and last name of a candidate.
Once marked, seal the special ballot in the envelope that's provided and drop it in the ballot box in the office.
The offices are open:
- Monday to Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Sunday: 12 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The returning office locations are:
- Cambridge: Smart Centres Cambridge, 46 Pinebush Rd., Suite 4, Cambridge.
- Guelph: Silvercreek Centre, 292 Speedvale Ave. W., Suite 1, Guelph.
- Kitchener Centre: 20 Ottawa St. N., Kitchener.
- Kitchener-Conestoga: 6 Arthur St. N., Elmira.
- Kitchener South-Hespeler: Deer Ridge Centre, 4273 King St. E., Kitchener.
- Perth-Wellington: 100 Gordon St., Stratford.
- Waterloo: 725 Bridge Street West, Suite 101, Waterloo.
- Wellington-Halton Hills: Georgetown Market Place, 280 Guelph St., Suite 55, Georgetown.
People need to take some sort of identification with them to the returning office that shows their name.
"For example, a driver's licence would be perfect," Grenier said.
For people who don't have a driver's license, Grenier said they could use a health card with their name on it and "another document that would prove your address. That could be something like a telephone bill or an electricity bill."
Vote by mail
To vote by mail, you will need to apply for a special ballot, either online through Elections Canada or at your riding's returning office (see locations above). The deadline to apply for this kit, or to get one in person, is Sept. 14.
Once approved, a special ballot kit will be mailed to you along with the instructions you need to follow to complete the ballot and return it to Elections Canada.
Similar to voting at a returning office, the special ballot will not have a list of candidates. Instead, it will have a blank space where people write the first and last names of the candidate getting their vote. Writing just a political party will mean the vote won't be counted — it must be a candidate's name.
The kit should include three envelopes: an unmarked inner envelope that you seal your ballot into, an outer envelope that has your information as well as a place where you sign and date a declaration on the front and a third pre-addressed, postage paid return envelope that is needed to mail the ballot back to Elections Canada.
Advanced polls
The advanced polls will be open across the country from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Friday, Sept. 10 to Monday, Sept. 13.
Exact locations will be listed on voter registration cards and will be available on the Elections Canada website closer to the date.
- Use Vote Compass to compare the party platforms with your views.
- Find out who's ahead in the latest polls with our Poll Tracker.
