It would seem that in the last election some folks didn’t realize they could vote from home. Others didn’t know what the Voters’ Kit was and tossed it away. So here’s the scoop on mail-in voting this fall.
Qualifications
You will receive your personal Voters’ Kit by mail. It will be mailed on or before September 27, 2010 to the address on the Voters’ List (likely your permanent residence).
You can check to see if you’re on the Voters’ List in person or by phone as of September 1st.
If you want to check the Voters’ List in person, go to the Township of Algonquin Highlands Municipal Office on North Shore Road or to the Dorset Satellite Office on Main Street in Dorset.
If you want to check the Voters’ List by phone, call the Main Municipal Office at (705) 489-2379 or the Dorset Satellite Office at (705) 766-2211.
If you or your spouse/partner are not on the list or you want to correct information on the Voters’ List, you are required to fill in and sign the appropriate form and get it back to the Clerk. When the info is corrected you’ll receive your Voters’ Kit.
You can make the above changes in person or by mail but you can only change your own information (i.e. one spouse can’t sign the form for the other).
You can make these changes to the Voters’ List between Tuesday, September 7 and Friday, October 22 and on Voting Day itself, Monday, October 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
If you want to change your information in person you may to do it at the Township’s Main Municipal Office on North Shore Rd, during normal office hours (8:30 am to 4:30 pm). You’ll need photo identification. You can only to this at Main Municipal Office on North Shore Rd, because the Clerk does this and that’s where she works.
If you want to change your information by mail you’ll have to swear an oath instead of providing photo i.d. and you need to contact the Clerk to get the form. (As an aside, I strongly suggest you don’t wait until the middle of October to do this or else you may be at the mercy of the postal system and not get to vote.)
Voting Procedures…don’t worry, it’s easy!
a) The Voters’ Kit you receive by mail will contain:
- An instruction sheet/Voter Declaration Form;
- An Outer Return Envelope (Yellow);
- An Inner Secrecy Envelope (White); and
- A ballot
b) You mark the ballot as instructed (with my name marked, of course!). You fold it and place it in the secrecy envelope and then seal the envelope. You then sign the Voter Declaration Form, detach it where indicated, and place both the secrecy envelope and the signed Voter Declaration Form in the postage-paid yellow Return Envelope (outer envelope) and pop it in the mailbox no later than October 16, 2010. Remember: no stamp required!
If you can’t get it in the mail before October 16th, you’re encouraged to hand deliver the sealed Return Envelope to the Township’s Main Office or to the Dorset Satellite Office. You can do this up until 8 pm on Election Day, October 25th.
If you want to physically place your Return Envelope in the secure Drop Box (just like voting in person) you may do so at the official Drop Off Centres at both Township’s Main Office or at the Dorset Satellite Office. You may do this between Tuesday, October 5 and Friday, October 22 during normal office hours and on Election Day, Monday, October 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
At 8:00 p.m. on Voting Day the Deputy Returning Officers (DROs) and Election Assistants will remove the all ballots from the Secrecy Envelopes and count them at the Township of Algonquin Highlands Main Municipal Office. Then the winners will be announced.
Whew! If that wasn’t enough and you’d like more info on the election click here: www.algonquinhighlands.ca/election/index.html
