The municipal election is happening today. Here's how to vote in Windsor

For anyone who has not voted in the municipal election's advance polls, today is the last day you'll be able to have your say. 

We spoke to Terri Knight Lepain, the city's manager of records and elections, about how to cast your ballot.

At the polling station

If you've gotten a voter card in the mail that means you're on the voter list. The voter card should have your name and address printed on it, along with your polling station.

"That's the most important piece of information is where to go on Monday to vote," she said.

If voters are uncertain about where to vote, they can call 311 and give their name and address to find out where their location is. The information would also be available on www.windsorelections.ca and users can look up their voter location using their address. 

"It will tell them the ward and poll, the location and address they should go," Knight Lepain said.

Other ways to find out would be to simply ask other members of your household or a neighbour where they are going to vote.

The polls will be open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. and voters will be welcome at any point between those hours.

No voter card? No problem

Knight Lepain said that the city sent out about 155,000 voter cards and only about 1,500 of those have been returned to sender but there are other reasons someone might be left off the list.

But she added it's no big deal if you don't have one.

"Bring a piece of ID. If  the ID has your name and address on it, that's great. If it has a picture on it, that's great," she said.

She said if people don't have ID they could also use a utility bill, a property tax statement or a bank statement. She said citizenship cards and health cards would work as well. 

If none of those options are available either, people can fill out a form declaring their identity.

"That entitles them to get their ballot," she said. 

What's on the ballot?

There will be three different sections of people to vote for on the ballot.

• Mayor, which is elected across the 10 wards in the city.
• Ward councillor, which are candidates specific to the ward you live in.
• School board trustees will require votes for either one or two candidates. There will be options for the public, Catholic and French school boards. 

Any candidate that is on the ballot who was acclaimed will be marked as such.

Declining to vote

Duff Conacher, who is with Democracy Watch, said that election officials at both the provincial and municipal levels have done a terrible job of letting people know they have the right to decline to vote officially at a voting station.

"Lot's of people find that poll workers have no idea what to do when you say you want to hand back your ballot and decline it," he said.

When asked Knight Lepain said that people can come to the polling station and present their ID or voter card and declare to the poll worker that they would like to decline their right to vote. 

"That is their right, whatever personal reason they are doing that for. It is not a problem," Knight Lepain said. 

• CBC Windsor will stream municipal election results live on Oct. 24
• 'I find it questionable:' Windsor voter puzzled about police presence at advance polls

She said the poll worker will write declined across the ballot and it goes into the declined ballot envelope and won't be scanned by the vote tabulator.

She said that leaving some tabs blank on ballots is also OK if someone opts to vote for mayor and councillor and not for school board trustees.

"Your ballot will go through the tabulator, it will only register the votes you've cast."