Kitchener-Waterloo

Ray of Hope provides advance voting polls for people with no fixed address

People with no fixed address had a chance to vote in advance of the municipal election at organizations like Ray of Hope and St. John's Kitchen at the Working Centre.

Ray of Hope had 25 voters use advance poll, while St. John's Kitchen had 30 voters

Photo of the shopfront
Organizations like Ray of Hope in Kitchener provided advance polls for people that have no fixed address. (Google Street View)

People who don't have a fixed address had the opportunity this week to vote ahead of the municipal election at Ray of Hope and St. John's Kitchen. 

Advance polling at the organizations was held Thursday, and in the four hours the polls were open, Ray of Hope had 25 voters, while St. John's Kitchen had 30.

"That 55 may not have been able to vote had these polling stations not been available," Ray of Hope CEO Tonya Verburg told CBC K-W in an email.

The polls were also open to any Kitchener resident who wanted to vote ahead of Oct. 22, Verburg added.

Those with no address used Ray of Hope's address or used the location address of a tent city they currently reside in. They also didn't have to have ID with them, but had to fill out additional paper work.

"Many of our guest do not have an ID as they carry all of their possessions with them and an ID is often stolen, so having this voting opportunity is key," Verburg said.