Voting for the municipal election is in full swing, and Cambridge residents have a number of different options before election day on Oct. 24.
Voters who would like to cast their ballot early, can do so either at an advance poll location, or online.
Advanced voting polls have been available at specific locations since Oct. 6 across the city, with one more advance poll that will take place on Saturday Oct. 15 at Hespeler Arena, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
"The advanced voting locations happening in the city, are all by curbside drive-thru,” said Cambridge city clerk, Daniel Manton.
“People can just pull up in their vehicle, they receive their ballot, and mark it in their car. It runs through the tabulator, and then they are on their way.”
Manton said voting at a drive-thru advance poll is unique and different, and the response from residents so far has been positive.
“People seem to really like it. On Oct. 6 and 7 at Forward Baptist Church, we had over 350 people come out and vote,” Manton said.
"It’s a drive-thru experience. We had people pull up and say, this is awesome, we love this. But for people who didn’t want to vote from their car, we had some voting screens set up inside as well, so people could get out of their car, come to the table, and privately vote.”
On Oct. 11 and 12, advance polls were located at Preston Auditorium
“The first day was very busy with over 350 people who voted, and the second day, there were over 250,” Manton said.
With one more advance poll coming up this weekend, Manton said for those who aren’t big on voting in their car, they are welcome to come over to a table indoors, and vote.
“Some people just enjoy getting out of their car to vote, sometimes it’s a social thing, to be able to catch up with others. So, we are happy to be very flexible and offer a few different ways to vote,” Manton said.
Online voting began on Oct 6 and will continue until election day, on Oct. 24.
“Within the first 24 hours, we saw over 1,000 online voters. We are now at over 4,000 so that’s great, and we expect to see that climb,” Manton said.
“The first time Cambridge offered online voting, there were 3,000 internet voters, and the second time, we climbed up to 8,000. I hope we get close to 13,000 this time. We will see.”
Cambridge saw a voter a turnout of 32.24 per cent in 2018, and that was up from approximately 30 per cent in 2014.
Of the 85,731 residents that were able to vote, 8,677 residents voted online. This year, the city is closer to 96,000 eligible electors.
“In 2014, we had internet voting as well, and we had 5,000 who voted online. Across Ontario, that’s typically what you see, is an increase of about 3,000 every four years,” Manton said.
Manton said online voting is a great option, especially for those who have difficulties making out to the polls.
“If there is a voter who can not leave their home, and does not have internet access, we ask that they call the clerk’s office and we’ll make arrangements for them to vote at home and help them through the process,” Manton said.
To arrange for at-home voting on election day, they can contact [email protected].
“And if people did not get their voter information in the mail, they don’t need it. The list is managed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, and sometimes there are inaccuracies with the list. They can just bring identification to the poll, and vote,” Manton said.
“You don’t need your letter. And if people are having internet voting issues, they can contact the City of Cambridge, and we will help them with that. Come out and vote, the more people, the better.”
On Election Day, Cambridge City Hall will be a fully accessible voting location and will offer accessible voting devices for ballot marking which meets full accessibility standards.
For more information and to see who is running for office in the municipal election, visit CambridgeToday's municipal election coverage here.
