Election Day

The 2010 municipal and school board elections will be held on Monday, October 25, 2010.  The Polls will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

An individual is entitled to be an elector at an election held in a local municipality, if on voting day he/she is:

• a Canadian citizen;
• at least 18 years of age;
• residing in the local municipality or is the owner or tenant of land in the local municipality, or the spouse of such owner or tenant; and
• not otherwise prohibited from voting.

To vote for a Separate School Board Trustee, the law requires a person to be a Roman Catholic. To vote for a French language School Board Trustee, a voter must have French language education rights.  Unless the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation is advised otherwise, a resident is assumed to be an English language Public School supporter, which means they can only vote for English Public School Board Trustee.

If a person is a qualified elector due to ownership or tenancy in a commercial or industrial property in a municipality in which they are not resident, the person is not eligible to vote for school board trustee.  Such persons will be eligible to vote for all other offices and will receive an appropriate ballot.

A person is entitled to vote in every municipality and school board jurisdiction in which he or she owns or occupies property.  However, an elector may vote only once in a municipality even if he or she owns several properties in that municipality.  If you own several properties, your qualifying address will be your primary residence.  

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) will mail 2010 Municipal Enumeration Forms this spring to help confirm or collect information for individuals owning or occupying property in Ontario. The forms will be mailed to specific households where MPAC needs to confirm or update the occupant information on file.  This information is used by MPAC to create a Preliminary List of Electors (PLE) for every municipal and school board election in Ontario.  The preliminary list is provided to municipalities, school boards and District Social Services Administration Boards to help them create the final Voter's Lists for Election Day.

If you receive a Municipal Enumeration Form from MPAC, please confirm the information included on the form and make any necessary changes or additions. Once the form has been completed, please sign and return it to MPAC in the envelope provided.

MPAC is authorized under section15 of the Assessment Act to conduct municipal enumerations in Ontario. The information collected on the Municipal Enumeration Form is protected under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

It is important to complete and return the Municipal Enumeration Form as it will help ensure that your correct information is listed on the Voters List.

You can also contact MPAC to confirm the information that is on file.

1-866-269-MPAC (6722)
1-877-889-MPAC (6722) (TTY)

For more information regarding Municipal Enumeration and MPAC please visit MPAC's website at the following link:

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation - Enumeration 2010

News

Read about how the City of Port Colborne and area municipalities are encouraging participation in municipal enumeration to build an accurate Voters' List.

Pelham News, April 8, 2010, "MPAC Helping Municipalities Build Accurate Voters' List."

The 2010 Voters' List for the City of Port Colborne contains the name, address, school support and occupancy status of each person who meets the qualifications of an elector in the City and is prepared by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation.

The Voters' List will be made available for inspection at City Hall and the Port Colborne Public Library in September 2010.

Voters' List Revisions

Residents are encouraged to check that their information on the Voters' List is correct and, if it is not, to file the necessary applications for correction with the Clerk well in advance of voting day.  This avoids unnecessary delays at the polls on Election Day.

As Canadian citizenship is a voter qualification, please be sure to take proof of citizenship with you to the polls.

The period for revisions to the Voters' List is from September 7, 2010 to October 25, 2010. During this period a person may make an application to the Clerk requesting that their name be added to or removed from the Voters' List or that the information on the voters' list relating to them be amended. 

Applications to remove another person's name from the Voters' List may be made between September 7, 2010 and September 10, 2010.

Application forms will be available at the Clerk's office and on this website once the revision period commences. Completed application forms may be filed in person, by the applicant or his or her agent, or by mail, by the applicant.

Residents may also phone in an enquiry to City Hall at 835-2901 ext. 121, but must be prepared to provide complete elector information including name, address, and date of birth.  Staff will confirm whether or not the elector matching that information is on the list. Due to privacy issues, staff will not conduct a search based on incomplete information.

Voters' List - Election Day

If a person attends at the voting location and their name does not appear on the List, such person is entitled to have their name entered on the Voters' List and to receive a ballot. To vote the person must complete the appropriate application and establish their identity to the satisfaction of the election officer.

Information regarding Advance Poll dates and locations will be provided in the near future.

While all poll locations are accessible to the physically handicapped, voters with physical and visual impairments are encouraged to vote at the advance polls. There is much lighter voter turnout at these polls.

A Voter Notification Card will be mailed to every address in September 2010 which will indicate the eligible voters associated with the address and where they vote for advance voting and on Election Day.  If you do not receive a Voter Notification Card you may not be on the Voters' List. 

Voters are encouraged to take the Voter Notification Card with them to the polls, as this speeds the voting process.

Any qualified elector, if they are unable to vote on Advance Voting Days or on Election Day, may appoint another qualified elector to vote on their behalf.

Any person whose name is on the Voters' List or who has been added by revision may vote by proxy, that is, they can appoint a person to vote on their behalf in accordance with their instructions. 

A person wishing to appoint a proxy voter must do so on the prescribed form.  A completed proxy form must be returned to the Clerk's Office, in person during normal offices hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or during the hours of 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on any day of an advance vote, by the person appointed as proxy as they must take a declaration which must be completed in the presence of the Clerk or designate.  The voting proxy will also be required to take an oral oath at the poll. 

Note:  Proxy forms cannot be certified at the polling place, the appointed proxy must attend the Clerk's Office. No proxy forms will be certified after 4:30 p.m. on Voting Day, October 25, 2010.

Proxies cannot be appointed until the period for withdrawal of nominations has expired.  The first date for appointing a voting proxy is September 10, 2010. If additional nominations are required under Section 33(5) of the Municipal Elections Act, the date is September 15, 2010.

The place where a person's family resides is also his or her residence, unless he or she moves elsewhere with the intention of changing his or her permanent lodging place.

Students who are in temporary residences away from home retain their qualification to vote in the municipality of their permanent residence.  Students are, therefore, eligible to appoint a proxy.

The person who is appointed a voting proxy must be entitled to be an elector in the municipality. A person may appoint only one person as a voting proxy. A person appointed as a proxy may only act as a proxy for one person, unless the person is the spouse, sibling, parent, child, grandparent or grandchild of the persons making the appointment. A person may not act as a proxy for a non-relative and a family member at the same time.

All polling places will be equipped with print outs of the ballot in oversize print and with magnifying sheets/glasses. Disabled electors may also be assisted by a "friend" or an "election official" who is sworn to maintain the secrecy of the elector's vote.

In the 2003 Municipal Election, a ballot template was created which permitted a legally blind person to vote independently.  Until the final form of the ballot is known, that is the number of races and the number of candidates in each race, it cannot be determined if the ballot template will be an option for the 2010 election. More information on this will be available in September 2010.

If the template is available, those voters with visual impairments who wish to take advantage of the ballot template in order to vote independently should attend the advance poll as it takes approximately one-half hour to utilize this voting method. The regular polls are too busy and too noisy to make this a practical option on voting day.

Section 50 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 provides as follows:

"(1)      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.

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

(3)       The employer shall not make a deduction from the employee's pay or impose any other penalty for the absence from work."

Voting day is October 25, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  If an employee has three consecutive hours to vote when they are not working within those polling hours, the employer is not required to give the employee time off.  For example, if an employee works from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. they have four consecutive hours to vote between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. and, therefore, the employee does not have to provide time off with pay.

If, on the other hand, an employee works from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., the employee will not have three consecutive hours to vote either before or after they start work and the employer will have to grant paid time off in order to provide the employee with the required three consecutive hours to vote.  The absence, however, shall be timed to suit the employer's convenience as much as possible.