Higher advance voter numbers this year, according to Elections Canada

According to Elections Canada, voter turnout to advance polling stations across the country were 29 per cent higher than turnout during the 2015 federal election.

The total ballots cast over the four-day period reached an estimated 4.7 million. Advance polling numbers hit 3,657,415 in the 2015 federal elections, which some say is a result of more polling stations being available and for longer periods of time.

“Part of it can be attributed to the fact that more opportunities were given to Canadians to vote early,” said Dr. Lydia Miljan, a political science professor at the University of Windsor. “The polls were open longer.”

Miljan said voter interest could be a major factor in the popularity of the advance polling stations, although she said it will not be certain until the final votes are in.

According to Miljan, part of the increase in advance voters could also be attributed to the beginning of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah on Monday Oct. 21, 2019. The high holiday could have encouraged members of the Jewish faith to visit polls early.

Advance polling stations were available over the course of four days during both elections, but this year there were more polling stations and they were open for longer.

Voters had 6,135 polling stations to choose from this year between Oct. 11 to Oct. 14, 2019, in comparison to 4,946 during the 2015 general election. Polls also stayed open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. this year, allotting voters more time than in 2015 when advance polls were only open from noon to 8 p.m.

“I voted in advance polls on the Monday of Thanksgiving weekend because I knew I’d be at school this Monday,” said Windsor student Dawn Farron, who also took advantage of the advance polls in the 2015 general election. “I also knew how little time it would actually take out of my day.”

According to Miljan, there was also a more concerted effort to get students to vote with on-campus voting stations at the University of Windsor and St. Clair College.

Approximately 111,300 voters utilized the on-campus polling stations last week in comparison to 70,000 in 2015.

“It is incredibly important for young adults to be involved in political voting because we want a better life,” said Farron. “We are the ones who will have to live with the political climate that comes out of an election.”