Ottawa votes 2014: Election day information for voters
There are 334 places to vote on Monday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET for Ottawa’s municipal election, not including polls in long-term care and seniors’ homes.
All eligible voters who didn’t participate in advance polling should note that off-peak hours last from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., which should see shorter lines.
Voters can find their polling station on their voter notification letter or by using the "Where do I vote?" search tool on the City of Ottawa’s website.
People must bring one piece of original identification that shows proof of name and their qualifying Ottawa address. Acceptable forms of ID can be found here.
Also, cellphones, tablets and cameras are banned from voting locations.
Here are some quick facts about voting day:
- Polling hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- 334 voting locations.
- 6 command centres.
- 2,815 election workers.
There are also 217 candidates in the 2014 municipal election, 13 more than in 2010. The breakdown goes like this:
- 132 for city council.
- 8 for mayor.
- 85 for school board trustee.
Accessible options for voters
The Elections Office conducts site visits and completes a detailed accessibility checklist, which ensures all voting locations are accessible.
There are also tools like large print ballots, magnifying sheets, Braille listings of candidates and Braille ballot templates available. In addition, officials make sure there is access to a cellphone with Elections call centre staff on standby.
The city has also introduced accessible voting tabulators in seniors residences and long term care facilities on election day, which allows voters with disabilities to mark and cast their ballots privately and independently.
The tabulator features bilingual audio through headphones, a bilingual visual support through a 19-inch screen with adjustable angles, and it accepts assistive input devices for ballot navigation and voting, including ATI (Audio-Tactile Interface with Braille), sip-puff and colour-coded left and right paddles.
During advance voting from Oct. 1 to 3, and on Oct. 9 and 18, almost 47,000 eligible voters cast their ballots in Ottawa.
