MacVotes 2021 – a federal election will be held on September 20

A federal election will be held on Monday, September 20. The polls will be open for 12 hours that day, from 9:30am until 9:30pm.  Anyone who is a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years of age (on election day), is eligible to vote.

Students may vote in the location they deem to be their home. This could be either the political riding associated with a permanent address, or the Hamilton riding within which a student lives while attending McMaster University. To vote on election day, a student needs identification to show where they live, if they have not registered in advance to vote (please note, pre-election registration closes on September 14 – but you may still vote on election day without registering in advance). Many students will not be registered to vote prior to election day within their Hamilton riding.

Where does a student vote?

Students may vote at their specific polling station on September 20. If registered in advance, students may also vote at an advance polling station, by mail, or  at any Elections Canada office before September 14. To learn more about how to vote in advance, by mail, or at an Elections Canada office, click here.

To find out where you will vote on election day, please enter your postal code here.

If you specifically live in a residence building at McMaster University, you will vote in East Turf Gym in the Ivor Wynne Centre. Please note, students living in residence will need to download a special proof of residency form, called an Address Verification Letter, which can be found on the Residence Portal, and bring it and photo ID (such as a student card or driver’s license) to vote.

How does a student vote?

Many students will not be registered in advance to vote in their Hamilton riding.  THIS IS OK AND YOU CAN STILL VOTE ON ELECTION DAY, you will simply register to vote at your polling station on election day. Please bring identification to help you register and vote. To read all the acceptable forms of ID you can bring, please consult the many options to prove your identity, provided by Elections Canada. For many students, a driver’s license won’t include a Hamilton address. Therefore, amongst the numerous ways you can properly ID yourself and vote on election day is to bring your photo ID, which could include your student card, plus a copy of documentation that includes both your name and your current address, such as the lease or a utility bill for your student rental property. Please consult this list of the wide array of ways you can identify yourself on election day, if you are not registered in advance.

If you do not have ID, you may still vote. You can declare your identity and address through writing at your polling station and have someone who knows you who is also assigned to the same polling station vouch for you. For someone to vouch for you, that person must be able to prove their identity and address through ID. The person vouching can only do this for one person.

Who is running for election?

McMaster University is located in the riding of Hamilton West – Ancaster – Dundas (HWAD).  Many students living in and around the campus will vote in this specific riding. There are five ridings that cover the municipal boundaries of Hamilton, you can learn more about them here. To determine your specific riding and polling location, please enter your postal code / address here.

In the HWAD riding, you can view all register candidates here. In alphabetical order, the candidates (and their political party affiliation) include:

Galea, Victoria – Green Party of Canada – https://www.votevictoriagalea.ca/
Henriquez, Roberto – New Democratic Party of Canada – https://hamiltonwestancasterdundas.ndp.ca/
Laranjo, Bret – Conservative Party of Canada – https://bertlaranjo.ca/
Tassi, Filomena – Liberal Party of Canada – https://filomenatassi.liberal.ca/
Woods, Dean – People’s Party of Canada – https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/dean_woods

For more information, please contact:

Siobhan Teel
Vice-President (Education)
vped@msu.mcmaster.ca