Voting in provincial elections

To vote by mail, you will need to complete a Vote by Mail application and provide a copy of at least one piece of government-issued ID showing your name and home address.

• Apply to vote by mail before February 21 at 6 PM (Eastern Time) to receive your voting kit in the mail. You can apply to vote by mail by:
  • using our online Vote by Mail application
    
  • downloading and printing an application

• Elections Ontario must receive your application by 6 PM (Eastern Time) on February 21, six days before election day.
• Once your vote by mail application has been reviewed and approved by Elections Ontario, a voting kit with a ballot will be mailed to you at the mailing address provided. Your voting kit will include a write-in ballot on which you will have to write the candidate’s given name (or initials) and surname.
  • You can track the status of your voting kit using the confirmation code received after submitting your application. 
  • It will take at least 24 hours for the tracking number of your voting kit to become available. 
  • If you provided an email address when applying, your confirmation code was also emailed to you.
• Elections Ontario must receive your completed voting kit by 6 PM (Eastern Time) on February 27 to be counted.
  • You can use the prepaid envelope provided by Elections Ontario to return your voting kit or you can drop it off at your local election office. 
  • If you are outside Canada, you will be responsible for the international postage to return your voting kit to Elections Ontario.

Please note, once a vote by mail application has been approved, you cannot vote by using any other voting method.

If you choose to print your application, you must submit your signed and completed application form, with a photocopy of one government-issued proof of name and home address (such as a driver’s licence, Ontario Photo ID Card) or one government-issued proof of name and one proof of name and home address from a non-government entity (such as a utility bill or pay stub), in one of two ways:

• Email to sb@elections.on.ca
• Mail to Elections Ontario, Special Ballot, 51 Rolark Drive, Toronto, Ontario M1R 3B1

Learn more about what will be included in your vote by mail kit:

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

You can vote in person at your local election office from the day after an election in your electoral district has been called until 6 PM the day before election day.

1. When you arrive at the local election office, an election official will ask you to show your ID and complete an application form to vote by special ballot by signing a declaration.
2. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
3. You will go behind a voting screen to write the candidate’s given name (or initials) and surname on the ballot and return the completed ballot to the ballot box.

Visit our accessibility page to find tools and services.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

You can vote at any of the advance voting locations in your electoral district. Advance voting locations are open from 10 AM to 8 PM.

1. When you arrive at the voting location, you will be asked to show your ID to an election official who will check if you are on the voters list.
2. If you are not on the list, the election official will add you to the voters list and ask you to sign a declaration.
3. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
4. You will go behind a voting screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name, and return the completed ballot to the ballot box.
5. You will place your marked ballot into the secrecy folder and take it to an election official operating a tabulator.

Visit our accessibility page to find tools and services.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

You can vote in person on election day from 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern Time or 8 AM to 8 PM Central Time at your assigned voting location based on your home address.

1. When you arrive at a voting location, you will be asked to show your ID to an election official who will check if you are on the voters list.
2. If you are not on the list, the election official will add you to the voters list and ask you to sign a declaration.
3. The election official will then issue you a ballot.
4. You will go behind a voting screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name, and return the completed ballot to the box.
5. In a voting location with technology, you will place your marked ballot into the secrecy folder and take it to an election official operating a tabulator. In a voting location without technology, you will fold your ballot and place it into a ballot box yourself.

Visit our accessibility page to find tools and services.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

You can request to vote by home visit if you:

• are unable to go to your local election office or voting location; or
• require assistance to vote.
  

To request a home visit, contact your local election office by 6 PM on February 26 to schedule a home visit. 

Use Voter Information Service to find your local election office contact information.

If your request is approved, two election officials will bring a voting kit to your home to assist you in voting. You will need to show one piece of ID and complete the application form before receiving your ballot.

You will write the first and last name of the candidate of your choice on the write-in ballot. Then, you will fold your ballot and place the ballot in the envelopes as indicated before returning it to the election official.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

You can contact the local election office in the electoral district that the hospital is located in to find out if your hospital is participating in the Hospital Program on February 17, 18, or 19. You can use the hospital’s postal code when using Voter Information Service to find the local election office contact information.

If you are in a hospital that is participating in the Hospital Program on February 17, 18, or 19, on one of those days an election official will visit your room and ask if you would like to vote by special ballot.

Hospitalized electors will need to:

• Show one piece of ID and complete the application form before receiving their ballot. A hospital bracelet can be used as proof of name and home address.
• Write the first and last name of the candidate of their choice on the write-in ballot, fold the ballot and place it in the envelope as indicated before returning it to the election official.

If the hospital you are in is not part of the Hospital Program or you have missed the date that election officials visited your participating hospital, you can still vote at an advance voting location in your electoral district, on election day, apply to vote by mail or you may qualify for a home visit. 

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

If you do not have a permanent address you can still vote at an advance voting location or on election day. The place where you have returned to most often to eat or sleep in the past five weeks is considered to be your address. 

1. If you do not have ID showing both your name and home address, the administrator of your shelter, food bank, or community health care facility that you use most often will provide you with a Certificate of Identity and Residence form. 
2. Both you and the administrator must sign the form. You will use this form as your ID when you go to vote. 
3. Your administrator will find your assigned voting location using our Voter Information Service and will write your voting location information on the form.
4. You will take this form to your assigned voting location and give it to the election official. The election official will collect the form from you and issue you a ballot to vote.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

Studying in Ontario

If you are an eligible elector studying in Ontario but living away from home for school, you have two options for where to vote:

1. in the electoral district for your permanent home address; or
2. in the electoral district for your address while attending school.

You will need to show ID to vote. On-campus voting is only for students living on campus.

Studying outside of Ontario

If you are an eligible elector studying outside Ontario, you can vote by mail. 

Use Voter Information Service to find advance voting and election day voting location information. 

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

As a member, or family member of a member of the Canadian Forces, living outside your electoral district, you can still vote by:

1. vote by mail; or
2. adding yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters

Being on the Register of Absentee Voters means that you will automatically be sent a voting kit to vote by mail when an election in your electoral district is called.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

As a person, or family member of a person in the service of the Government of Canada or Government of Ontario, you can still vote by:

1. vote by mail; or
2. adding yourself to the Register of Absentee Voters

Being on the Register of Absentee Voters means that you will automatically be sent a voting kit to vote by mail when an election in your electoral district is called.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

Marking your ballot

When you go to your voting location, an election official will present you with a ballot that includes a list of candidates running for election in your electoral district. You will then go behind a voting privacy screen to mark your ballot. To vote for your chosen candidate, mark an X in the circle beside their name.

When you go to your local election office, an election official may present you with a write-in ballot. You will write the first and last name of the candidate of your choice on the write-in ballot, and you will fold your ballot and place it into a ballot box yourself.

If you make a mistake

If you have made a mistake and marked your ballot incorrectly, you may return the incorrectly marked ballot to the election official. The election official will cancel the ballot and reissue you a new ballot. You will mark the new ballot accordingly and place it into the a ballot box yourself. The election official will write “cancelled” on the back of the incorrectly marked ballot. Your incorrectly marked ballot will not be placed in the ballot box but in an envelope for cancelled ballots.

Cancelled ballots will be counted after the polls close on election night but are not part of the official results.

Declining your ballot

Ontario’s election law allows voters to decline their ballot. To decline your ballot, tell the election official that you are declining your right to vote when they hand you a ballot. This is a public process done out loud.

The election official will mark “declined” on the back of the ballot. Your ballot will not be placed in the ballot box but in an envelope for declined ballots.

Declined ballots will be counted after the polls close on election night and will be a part of the official results under “ballots declined by voters”.

Electors who are on the Register will receive a voter information card in the mail from February 17 to 22 with information about when and where to vote.

If you are on the Register, you will receive a voter information card in the mail from February 17 to 22. Bring your voter information card and one piece of accepted ID showing your name when you go to vote.

If you do not receive a voter information card, you can still vote, but your name may not be on the voters list. Bring one piece of accepted ID showing your name and current home address. 

You can also update or add your information to the voters list when you go to vote at the local election office, advance voting location or on election day.           

Use our Voter Information Service to find out when and where to vote after February 14.

Requests for a braille voter information card must be received by February 19 by contacting us at info@elections.on.ca or 1.888.668.8683.

A provincial general election has been called. Election day is February 27.

The Ontario voting guide will be mailed to each household in the province from February 3 to February 12. The guide contains everything you need to know about when, where, and how to vote for the 2025 provincial general election on February 27.