Welcome to the City of Toronto website

You can vote in the City of Toronto municipal election if you are:

• a Canadian citizen; and
• at least 18 years old; and
• a resident of the City of Toronto; or
• a non-resident owner or tenant of land in the City of Toronto, or their spouse; and
• not prohibited from voting under any law

Note: You may only vote ONCE in the City of Toronto's municipal election regardless of how many properties you own or rent within the City. If you live in the city and own or rent more than one property, you must vote in the ward where you live.

You are prohibited from voting on voting day if you are:

• a person serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution
• a corporation
• a person acting as executor or trustee or in another representative capacity, except as a voting proxy
• a person convicted of a corrupt practice described in section 90(3) of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996

Your voter information card and acceptable pieces of identification.

One piece of ID showing your name, Toronto address (where you currently live or own property) and signature or two pieces of ID — the first piece showing your name and signature and the second piece of ID showing your name and Toronto address.

• Acceptable pieces of identification

You are required to show acceptable ID to be added to the Voters' List or to receive a ballot.

If you do not have acceptable ID but your name is on the Voters' List, you will be required to sign a Declaration of Identity to receive a ballot.

If you do not have acceptable ID, and are not on the Voters' List, you will be asked to return with your ID in order to receive a ballot

Note: Your voter information card cannot be used as identification.

If your name is on the voters' list, you will receive a voter information card in the mail in early October of an election year. This card will tell you where you vote during the two weekend days of advance voting and on Election Day.

Election Day

Monday, October 27, 2014
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

No. In some areas parking is limited or not available. You can minimize parking difficulties by walking, taking public transit or going to vote in non-peak voting times.

1. Voting is quick and easy when you're prepared.
2. Bring your voter information card along with acceptable identification when you go to vote.
3. At the voting place, you will be greeted by an Election official (at the door or at the desk). If you need assistance, an Election official will be happy to help you.
4. You will be asked for identification showing your name, Toronto address and signature.
5. The Election official will check your identification against the voters' list and cross your name off the list.
6. The official will put your ballot in a secrecy folder. They will then show you how to mark your ballot by connecting the head and tail of the arrow pointing to the candidate of your choice. They will then direct you to the voting screen. ^*
7. At the voting screen, review the instructions on how to mark your ballot.^*
8. You can vote once for Mayor and once for Councillor. You may also be entitled to vote once for School Board Trustee.
9. Place your marked ballot in the secrecy folder and take it to the vote tabulator officer who will feed your ballot into the machine.^*
10. Once your ballot is accepted by the machine, you have successfully voted.^*

More information on this process.

You vote by connecting the head and tail of the arrow pointing to the candidate of your choice with the pen provided.

You vote for one mayor, one councillor and one school trustee. If you are a non-resident owner or tenant of land assessed as commercial or industrial you cannot vote for a school trustee.

If you make a mistake or change your mind about who you want to vote for simply take the ballot to the election official who will cancel your ballot and issue another one to you. If you have any questions on how to properly mark the ballot any of the election staff will be happy to explain it to you.

Yes.

Yes. When your ballot is put through the vote tabulator it will prompt the operator to ask you if you wish to cast a blank ballot. If you say yes, your ballot will be processed.

The peak voting times are first thing in the morning (10 - 10:30 a.m.) and after 5 p.m. If you vote at a school, class dismissal time can also be busy.

If you are inside the voting place or in line to vote prior to 8 p.m. you will be allowed to vote.

Voting is a fundamental right of our democracy. When you vote, you are selecting representatives who will make the laws and policies that determine how our City functions and how we live together.

Municipal government is involved in many aspects of our daily lives - from fixing roads, providing water, garbage collection, caring for children and the elderly, running public transit, supporting the arts, and protecting our City's residents. Become informed and browse the City's website to learn about the issues facing Toronto and City Council's many areas of responsibilities.

You can compare the roles and responsibilities (PDF 39 Kb) of municipal, provincial and federal governments to see how much your city does for you and why this is an important election for you to vote in.

The Municipal Elections Act, 1996 sets out the obligations of employers to allow employees to be absent from work for as long as is necessary to allow the employee to have three consecutive hours to vote on voting day.

Section 50 of the Act reads as follows:

Elector's absence from work
An elector whose hours of employment are such that he or she would not otherwise have three consecutive hours to vote on voting day is entitled to be absent from work for as long as is necessary to allow that amount of time.

Employer's convenience
The absence shall be timed to suit the employer's convenience as much as possible.

No deduction or penalty
The employer shall not make a deduction from the employee's pay or impose any other penalty for the absence from work.

If an employee has three consecutive hours to vote when they are not working then, Section 50 does not require the employer to provide time off. For example, if an employee works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., they have four consecutive hours to vote between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and the employer does not have to provide time off with pay.

On the other hand, if an employee works from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., the employee will not have three consecutive hours to vote - before or after they start work - and the employer will have to grant one hour of paid time off - before or after the employee starts work. Section 50 sets out that the absence "shall be timed" to suit the employer's convenience as much as possible.

Please note that the foregoing information on an employer's obligation is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

A person is guilty of an offence and liable, upon conviction, to a fine of $25,000 and/or imprisonment not more than 6 months if he or she:

• votes without being entitled to
• votes more than once in the City of Toronto
• votes in a voting place in which he or she is not entitled to vote
• includes a person to vote when that person is not entitled to
• furnishes a false or misleading information to an election official

The voters' list is a list of eligible electors in the City of Toronto. The Preliminary List of Electors, compiled by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) through their enumeration efforts and revised with your assistance, aids Election Services in their preparation of the voters list and execution of Election Day. Being on the voters' list ensures that you will receive important election messaging like the voter information card, which tells you where and when to vote, and will also speed up your time spent at the voting location.

• Watch an informative video about MPAC's role in municipal and school board elections.

MPAC's 'Municipal Property Assessment uses their comprehensive database of both property owners and tenants, to prepare this preliminary list. To find out if you are currently in MPAC's database, to update or change your information or to have your name added to this database, please contact MPAC directly:

Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Toll free: 1-866-296-MPAC (6722)
Website: www.mpac.ca

Access for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing is available by calling 1-877-TTY-MPAC (6722) or through the Bell Relay service.

Yes. Although we encourage you to complete this process before voting day, if you are an eligible elector you may add your name to the list when you go to vote, if you present acceptable identification.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation or MPAC is responsible for preparing the preliminary list of electors used for municipal and school board elections in Ontario. We provide all the completed application forms to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation for inclusion in the voters' list. If you have specific questions about the compilation of the voters' list you can contact MPAC at 1-866-296-6722 or visit their website at www.mpac.on.ca.