Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest By-Election: Voter Information

To vote in the Scarborough Southwest by-election, you must be:

• a Canadian citizen; and
• at least 18 years old; and
• a resident in Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest; or
• a non-resident of Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest, but you or your spouse own or rent property in Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest; and
• not prohibited from voting under any law.

You may only vote once regardless of how many properties you own or rent within the city.

To vote in Toronto, you are required to show identification with your name and Toronto (Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest) address.

Who cannot vote:

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

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

Information for students

Students living in Toronto for school

• If you are a student living away from “home” to attend an educational institution in Toronto and consider your “home” to be the place where you live when you are not attending school, which means you plan on returning there, then you are eligible to vote in elections and by-elections both in your “home” municipality and in the municipality where you currently live to attend school.
• If your home and school residence are both in Toronto, vote in the ward where your “home” is located not where your school residence is located.
• If you’re not on the voters’ list, you can add yourself at the voting location by showing identification with your name and Toronto address. Your address is considered to be your current Toronto residence.

Students living away from Toronto for school

• If you are a Toronto resident of Ward 20, but are studying in another Ontario municipality, you are eligible to vote in both this by-election.
• Bring identification with your name and qualifying Toronto address to the voting location.
• You may opt to appoint another elector as Proxy to vote on your behalf in Toronto.

Voters Experiencing Homelessness
Eligible voters who do not have a permanent address but live in Ward 20 can vote in the Scarborough Southwest by-election.

If you need information about how to vote or are experiencing a barrier to voting, email elections@toronto.ca or call 311.

In-Person Voting

There are three days of in-person voting:

You may only vote once in the Scarborough Southwest by-election regardless of how many properties you own or rent

Mail-in Voting

Electors will be provided with the option to vote by mail in the Ward 20, Scarborough Southwest by-election. Application details will be available in September.

Vote by Proxy

If you are not able to vote in person or by mail, you may appoint a voting proxy. A proxy is someone who you trust to vote in person on your behalf and is an eligible voter.

The Proxy Appointment Form details will be available in September.

A Voting Proxy can only vote on behalf of one person unless they are voting on behalf of a relative. Relatives are spouses, siblings, parents, children, grandparents and grandchildren. A Voting Proxy can vote on behalf of more than one relative.

Note: A person acting as executor or trustee or in any other representative capacity is still required to get a certified Voting Proxy Appointment Form.

Taking Time off to Vote

Voting hours on election day are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

You are entitled to three hours in which to vote on voting day. This does not mean you can take three hours off work. It means you’re allowed to be absent to give yourself three hours of voting time.

Typically this is at the start or end of your working hours. For example, if your working hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., you are entitled to leave one hour early so that you would have from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to vote.

Your employer may decide when it would be most convenient for you to be absent in order to vote. For example, if you work from noon to 6 p.m. your employer may decide that you should come in at 1 p.m., rather than leave work at 5 p.m.

If you have questions about any of the voting options, email elections@toronto.ca or call 311.

It’s important to review and confirm your voter information on the voters’ list is correct, especially if you’ve moved or changed your name since the last election.

Eligible voters in Ward 20 are encouraged to ensure that they are on the voters’ list on the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation’s Voter Lookup website:  voterlookup.ca/home.aspx

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the Voters’ List

The voters’ list is a list of eligible electors in the city of Toronto. The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)  is responsible for preparing the preliminary list of electors for each municipality and school board in Ontario. It is MPAC’s Municipal Property Assessment database of property owners and tenants that is used to prepare this preliminary list, which aids in the preparation of the final voters’ list for election day.

You can also view and update your school support designation if you are a residential property owner or a tenant registered with MPAC. Visit mpac.ca/schoolsupport .

For more information about the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) you can contact them Monday to Friday – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST:

• Toll Free 1-866-296-6722
• TTY 1-877-889-6722

You must bring identification when you go to vote, even if you are on the voters’ list.

One piece of identification (ID) showing your name and qualifying Toronto address is needed when you go to vote. Please note, a passport is not acceptable identification.

• Ontario issued photo card, driver’s licence or motor vehicle permit (vehicle portion).
• Cancelled personalized cheque, credit card or bank account statement.
• Utility bill for hydro, telephone or cable TV, water, gas or a bill from a public utilities commission.
• Cheque stub, T4 statement or pay receipt issued by an employer.
• Statement of direct deposit for Ontario Works or Ontario Disability Support Program.
• Property tax assessment, income tax assessment notice, Child Tax Benefit statement.
• Mortgage statement, lease or rental agreement.
• Transcript or report card from a post-secondary school.
• Document showing campus residence, issued by the office or officials responsible for student residence at a post-secondary institution.
• Any other document from the government of Canada, Ontario or a municipality in Ontario or a document issued or certified by a court in Ontario.
• Any document from a Band Council in Ontario established under the Indian Act (Canada).
• Insurance policy or insurance statement.
• Loan agreement or other financial agreement with a financial institution.
• Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid T4E.
• Statement of Old Age Security T4A (OAS), Canada Pension Plan Benefits T4A (P), Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions.
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statement of Benefits T5007.
• CNIB card or a card from another registered charitable organization that provides services to persons with disabilities.
• Document showing residence at a long-term care home under the Fixing Long-Term Care Act, 2021, issued by the Administrator for the home.

Learn more about Ontario regulation 304/13 for voter identification under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 as amended

• Printable list of ID
• Identification requirements for electors policy

Please contact Toronto Elections if you have accessibility questions or concerns by email at elections@toronto.ca or by calling 416-338-1111.

Curbside Voting

If you are physically unable to go inside the voting location, you can request to have your ballot brought to your vehicle, outside of the building or to another area within the voting location. Where a voting location is situated in a multi-residential building, the boundaries do not include any residences on the property.

A friend or support person will need to go inside the voting location to let the election officials know that you require curbside voting.

Personal Assistance to Voters
If you require assistance at the voting location you may bring a friend along to help or you may ask an election official for assistance. Your friend may go behind the voting screen with you, however they must make a declaration first.

Accessible Voting Equipment

The Voter Assist Terminal is a ballot-marking device that allows voters with disabilities to mark their ballot privately and independently. The features include a touch screen, an audio function, a braille key pad, a sip/puff tube device, a rocker paddle/foot switch and zoom features to adjust font sizes and colour contrast. Voter Assist Terminals will be available at two designated locations during advance vote and on election day.

Audio Description of the VAT Features
Voter Assist Terminal information (audio only)

Ballot Transfer
If you require the use of a Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) and one is not located at your designated voting location on voting day, you can request to have your ballot transferred to the VAT voting location in your ward.

A ballot transfer can also be requested in circumstances where an eligible voter might encounter a barrier at their designated voting location.

Requests should be made as soon as possible to ensure sufficient time for processing by contacting 416-338-1111 for a Ballot Transfer Request form.

Once approved, the elector will receive a Ballot Transfer Notice form by mail or email.

The elector must bring the Ballot Transfer Notice with them to the newly assigned voting location.

Braille How to Vote Booklets
How to Vote booklets are available in braille at each voting location to assist with declarations, required identification, how to mark your ballot and what to expect.

If you require assistance in another language:

• You can translate any web page at any time by selecting the Translate button at the top of each page, this will allow you to select any language offered by Google Translate.
• If you require assistance in a language that is not available, please call 311 to request over-the-phone interpretation in more than 180 languages.
• Voting location staff will be wearing tags that show the different languages they speak.
• You may ask anyone who is not a candidate or a scrutineer to act as an interpreter for you. They must complete an oral declaration that they will faithfully translate any communication between you and the election officials. Interpreters may not go behind the voting screen with you or assist you in voting.
• Translated “How to Vote booklets” are available in the voting location to assist with declarations, required identification, how to mark your ballot and what to expect.