What you need to know about voting in the upcoming municipal election

Manitoba’s municipal election is coming up on Oct. 26, and there are several things residents need to keep in mind before they vote including voter eligibility and what you need to bring to the polls.

Marc Lemoine, senior election official and city clerk, reminds Manitobans that to vote in a civic election you need to be a Canadian citizen and 18 years of age or older. He added that you need to have been a resident of your municipality since at least April 26, 2022.

“When you go to vote you do need to bring ID,” he said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Wednesday.

“That can be either one piece of ID, such as a driver’s licence, that has your photo, your name and current address.”

He added that there is no need to worry if you don’t have a driver’s licence, as you can instead bring two pieces of ID that together prove your name and current address.

“That could be something like a credit card and a health card that has your address on it,” he said.

Lemoine said the majority of voter notices have been sent out. He added that bringing this with you when you vote will help to speed up the experience at the polls.

However, this cannot be your only piece of ID.

“This can act as one piece, if you only have one other piece with your address. It can act as a second piece to prove your name, but you do need at least one more piece along with that, which shows your current address,” Lemoine explained.

Lemoine said that as of Wednesday, there are four locations open for advance polls. Eligible voters can cast their ballots at any advance voting locations, regardless of where they live in the city.

He noted that more advance voting locations will be opening up in the coming days, including at Grant Park Shopping Centre, Kildonan Place Shopping Centre, and C.F. Polo Park. A full list of these locations can be found online. 

“We do always encourage people to come out to our advance polls if they can,” Lemoine said.

“It’s going to be a busy election. We’ve got a lot of mayoral candidates [in Winnipeg].”

Lemoine said Winnipeg is expecting about a 50 per cent voter turnout, which is about 250,000 people.

- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dube.