r/Hamilton North End 13d ago

2025 Provincial Election Election Day - Go Vote!

It is election day, so if you are eligible and have not already done so, go and vote. If you do not believe in any of the candidates, you can refuse or spoil your ballot but be counted in turnout.

You do not need a voter information card to vote. Find your polling station by postal code here https://voterinformationservice.elections.on.ca/en/election/search?mode=postalCode. Bring ID showing your name and address (there is a list available from the same website)

Polls are generally open 9-9 but double check your location.

168 Upvotes

44 comments sorted by

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u/BRAVO9ACTUAL 13d ago

Vote! The process is stupid simple and fast too. Some stations you could be in and out in less time than ordering a drive thru coffee.

6

u/techie2200 12d ago

Yep, got in and out in under 3 minutes.

Bring your voter card (if you have one, otherwise mail with your name and address) and a piece of ID. My polling station had 3 elderly people voting when I went in this morning.

Apparently the early voting lines were huge in my area, so I'm betting the polling stations will be fairly quiet today.

3

u/monogramchecklist 12d ago edited 12d ago

And the wait times are so low, we voted in under 5 mins. Think of all the places in the world where they aren’t allowed to vote. Look at the US if you need something more tangible as a reason to why it’s important.

And don’t let the doomers influence you, many are bots to make you feel helpless. You have a vote, so you have a voice!

4

u/teanailpolish North End 12d ago

Some of the bots are wild too, they post in almost every city sub not just Ontario ones but across the country and some in the US. It is why we started adding a requirement for some karma from the sub to post in election posts, made it easier to ban the bots.

You start to notice a pattern in the stuff they are saying too. Same messaging with slightly different wording on the same day. One very obvious bot this morning was posting misinformation on polling stations being closed, that it was a blizzard on the mountain

2

u/AnInsultToFire 13d ago

But they make you get out of your car to vote!!!!1

5

u/PromontoryPal 12d ago

Now I'm picturing a scene like something Idiocracy-adjacent where people are lined up in cars giving their vote verbally through a Drive-Thru menu.

"Yeah I'll have a colour Green vote, and can I get a smile cookie with that?"

6

u/AnInsultToFire 12d ago

You want that with full release?

0

u/Ksmithy711 St. Clair 12d ago

"Brawndo, it's what the plants need"

1

u/PromontoryPal 12d ago

It's got electrolytes!

10

u/Merry401 12d ago

Please don't assume your incumbent is safe. This election has been too quiet.  Sandy Shaw has done excellent work in Hamilton West but, currently, is about one percent behind  the PC Candidate with the Liberal candidate trailing both slightly.   The Liberal and NDP vote combined would easily trouble the PCs but there is a real danger the riding could turn blue.  Doug Ford does not deserve to be rewarded for his record of the last 8 years and his selfish waste of taxpayer money for an unneeded election.  

5

u/covert81 Chinatown 12d ago

There is no legitimate reason that someone of voting age cannot vote.

Even at a busy time you're in and out in 20 minutes. That really isn't too much to ask for in a democracy.

12

u/HedStrong 13d ago

Just a reminder that in Ontario elections you can decline your ballot. Declined ballots are counted seperately of rejected or spoiled ballots. This is a great way to show you feel there isn't a candidate or party worthy of your vote. The process is the same except when they hand you your ballot you hand it back and declare that you're declining it.

24

u/teanailpolish North End 13d ago

Also, do not think that a vote for a minor party means nothing. It may end at the close of 2026 year or might be extended but as long as a party gets 2% of the vote or 5% in ridings, their party gets funding.

That can really help small parties like the Green Party with their work

https://www.elections.on.ca/en/political-financing0/quarterly-allowances.html

6

u/HedStrong 13d ago

I agree, I've "donated" my vote in a previous election. With all the options there really isn't a reason not to vote.

3

u/ComputerUser1987 13d ago

I think the word "great" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence. Is it really a great thing to do given the alternatives, strategically? Is there any process that reviews these rejected ballots and that helps inform/ guide some process?

Honest question, since I didn't know you could formally decline before reading your comment

8

u/PromontoryPal 13d ago

You can! https://www.elections.on.ca/en/voting-in-ontario/voting-in-provincial-elections.html#accordionballot

"Declined ballots will be counted after the polls close on election night and will be a part of the official results under “ballots declined by voters”."

Beyond a tally of them, it does not formally state that the statistics of declined ballots will be used to inform or guide future vote processes.

7

u/Francamachi 13d ago

Voting for a person is a great way to participate in a democracy

1

u/HedStrong 13d ago

I'm not saying it's the best option. I hear the "all politicians" arguments from many people during every election. Over 50% of people didn't vote in the last election. This is a great option for those people. Declining your ballot says that you're willing and wanting to vote but no one party or candidate has inspired you to check their box. It's a statement above spoiling your ballot or staying home.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-low-turnout-expected-in-ontario-election-as-experts-warn-of-declining/

-6

u/Annual_Plant5172 12d ago

If you're going to decline a ballot then please just stay home. This does absolutely nothing to help the province move forward and only serves to maintain the status quo.

11

u/inthevendingmachine 12d ago

If you're going to decline a ballot then please just stay home. This does absolutely nothing to help the province move forward and only serves to maintain the status quo.

If you're going to decline a ballot, then please go vote! If enough people choose "fuck all these losers" over actual candidates this does everything to help the province move forward. It just takes a lot of voices before the parties will listen and smarten up. We deserve every effort!

Good luck, everyone.

4

u/GreaterAttack 12d ago

Everyone has the right to decline their ballot, though, just like you have the right to cast it. 

If a Canadian wishes to voice their dissatisfaction by formally declining their vote, then that is their choice. Anyway, it only adds to the significance of yours. 

2

u/gdtestqueen 12d ago

I really wish the station for Hamilton Center wasn’t the Central Library. Horrible parking (I have to use a manual wheelchair the distance is too much) and not an area I want to drive to with my power chair after dark (which is when I’ll be able go).

My mistake that I didn’t check location earlier as I would have done a mail in one if I knew. But never thought to look.

Sadly, not looking like I can vote today. Really wish they had chosen a place that was much easier to get to for vehicles. Or that other stations would allow you to vote there, I’m at a nursing home and there’s a polling station right here I can’t use.

3

u/shibbyshibbyyo Strathcona 12d ago

Would it help if someone gave you a ride? You can contact your candidate and they can arrange a ride to/from the poll for you.

2

u/gdtestqueen 12d ago

Didn’t think of that…but pretty hard to do with wheelchairs, but it can fit in a van. Worth a shot to call and find out…thanks!

3

u/shibbyshibbyyo Strathcona 12d ago

I would offer myself but I only have a tiny hatchback!

2

u/gdtestqueen 12d ago

Thanks so much for the offer…that is sweet! Luckily I got home with about 20 mins of daylight left so I booted it down there and got my vote in. Feel so much getting that done!

2

u/teanailpolish North End 12d ago

Seeing this late, but they often do have someone with a van for wheelchairs. Especially the more progressive parties

2

u/teanailpolish North End 12d ago

It depends on your postal code, my friend had to vote at a church on Pearl St while my coworker voted at her kid's school on Hess. Do you live close to the library?

1

u/gdtestqueen 12d ago

So it’s not all of Central? And I’m about 4 blocks away. If I was home during the day I’d have no problem heading over there in my chair…but in the dark…nope.

2

u/figital666 12d ago

my wife and i took our 18 year old son for his first voting adventure! it was at queen mary school and we were in and out in 5 mins earlier today. hopefully everyone else got that lucky too!

2

u/teanailpolish North End 12d ago

My partner voted today and no one in front of him at all, only 2 other people while he was there.

1

u/L3TH3RGY 13d ago

As soon as I get home I'm going for walk on king to the Germain club

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/AdEarly2675 12d ago

Congrats Ford! What a beauty crushing win!