THUNDER BAY — Over a dozen advanced polling locations have opened across the two Thunder Bay-area ridings in the lead-up to this month’s provincial election.
A total of 13 advanced locations will be open from Thursday, Feb. 20 to Sat Feb. 22. For each day, they will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. These locations are in addition to the main returning offices which opened at the end of January. The returning offices are open until Feb. 26 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mondays to Saturdays and on Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
These locations allow voters to cast their ballots in their respective riding before the Feb. 27 election day.
Julio Gomes, returning officer for the Thunder Bay-Superior North electoral district, said registered voters should be seeing voter information cards in their mailboxes this week, but said they’re not essential if certain details haven’t changed since the 2022 election.
“You don't need to have one to vote if you haven't changed your address or your name,” he said. “You can go there, just bring some ID that shows your name and home address if your information has not changed from the previous election in 2022.”
For those who have moved, Gomes said, they’ll need to bring identification and sign a declaration that states they now live in the proper electoral district and at their new address.
Across the Thunder Bay-Superior North riding, aside from the main returning office at County Fair Mall, there are eight locations, with two in Thunder Bay and six in regional communities. Thunder Bay-Atikokan has five advanced locations with three in the city proper, one in Kakabeka Falls and one in Atikokan, plus the main returning office in Thunder Bay at the former Agnew H Johnston School.
Behind the scenes, Gomes said the Thunder Bay-Superior North district has enough staff for the advanced polls but is still recruiting for other poll official positions. People interested in applying can visit the returning office or apply online.
Tracy Tieman, the returning officer for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, told Dougall Media in an email that she doesn’t expect to be doing much more hiring come next week but will continue staff training.
Gomes said it takes a lot of effort by a lot of people to make sure an election goes smoothly.
“The election period is 28 days and our staff has been here working nonstop,” he said. “We've had about a dozen people in key staff positions at the returning office, basically working seven days a week, trying to get everything up and going.”
“There's a myriad of activities that go on behind the scene and I'm very proud and want to give a big pat on the back to all people that work on the elections at every returning office across Ontario.”
-With files from Sheri Leviski-Kotyk
