Election Notebook
Still time to get on voter’s list
No voter’s card? Don’t panic.
St. Catharines residents who haven’t received their voter’s cards in the mail don’t have to sit out the election.
“The most important thing we want people to know is if they don’t receive a voter’s card they can still be added to the voter list at the poll on election day or at an advanced poll as well,” said St. Catharines deputy clerk Kristen Sullivan.
“They just need to bring ID with their name and their address.”
There are always some residents who get left off the voter’s list in every election and it’s not just a St. Catharines issue, but provincewide.
Sullivan said the city gets its voter’s list from Municipal Property Assessment Corp. and at times there can be errors if, for example, someone has moved in the past four years, changed their name or an adult child has moved out of home.
“If they don’t receive updated information, then we don’t receive updated information,” Sullivan said. “So there are some anomalies like that that would cause someone not to get a voter’s card.”
Residents who want to get on the list need to bring two pieces of identification to a poll that show where they live currently. There are 29 different forms of ID the city can accept, such as bills or a driver’s licence.
The clerk’s office suggests residents without a card head to an advanced poll if possible to get it sorted out.
“Advance polls are great if people have the opportunity because the lines tend to be a little bit shorter, so it just allows people to get in and out a little bit faster,” Sullivan said.
Anyone who lives in the city, whether they own, rent or share accommodations, can vote if they are a Canadian citizen over 18 years old. Those who own or rent property in the city but live out of town can also vote as a non-resident elector.
Early birds cast their ballots
Advance voting is available at city hall and other locations across the city this week leading up to Monday’s election day.
St. Catharines elections coordinator Rebecca Alfieri said the city has been keeping tabs on turnout and it’s believed the first two advanced polls on Oct. 4 and 11 had a bit more traffic than in 2014.
The first-time poll at Brock University on Oct. 3 was quiet, but Alfieri said that was expected because it was new and the city was trying to get students on the voter’s list.
Meanwhile, a daily advanced poll at city hall, which has accessible audio voting, is seeing some users.
“It’s a nice steady pace every day,” she said. “That’s a great location if people want to vote. It’s open 9 to 4 daily until the 19th.”
Besides city hall, voters can also cast their ballots on Thursday at Grantham Lions Club at 732 Niagara St. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday at the St. Catharines Museum at 1932 Welland Canals Parkway 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lesson on school board candidates Thursday
Voters who cast ballots for District School Board of Niagara trustees will get another chance to hear from the candidates in person.
A forum for the 11 public school board candidates for St. Catharines and Niagara-on-theLake is being held Thursday.
Moderated by John Mercer, the event takes place 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre, 14 Anderson Lane. Doors open at 6 p.m.
All of the trustee candidates have been invited to attend. The event will have discussion format that will include pre-submitted questions and audience questions. Advance questions can be sent to jdmerc@maxwell.syr.edu.
A previous public trustee debate held in St. Catharines on Oct. 10 and hosted by Marty Mako can be viewed on YouTube by searching 2018 DSBN trustee debate — St. Catharines.
Taking care of election business
St. Catharines won’t be issuing any marriage licences or booking any city hall weddings on election day Monday.
The city said it will be business as usual on Oct. 22 with one exception — the clerk’s office, which is running the election, will be closed.
That means marriage, business and lottery licences won’t be available on Monday. Freedom of information requests and bookings for civil marriage ceremonies will also be unavailable for the day.
Other services such as pensions can be certified at the Citizens First counter on the second floor of city hall at 50 Church St. Burial permits will be issued at the St. Catharines fire station at 64 Geneva St.
All city clerk services will resume on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and will run regular office hours from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.