Early voting for the federal election opens Friday, Sept. 10.
In Golden, you can vote at the Golden Civic Centre or the Golden Seniors Centre, with advanced polling taking place at Golden Seniors Centre.
There will also be polling stations at the Field Community Hall and at the Parson Hall for some of the smaller communities in the surrounding area.
Voters must vote at the Polling Site their VIC Card directs them to.
If you’re registered to vote, you should receive a voter information card in the mail by Sept. 10. It tells you where and when you can vote.
If you aren’t registered in advance, don’t worry, you can register in person on the day you go to vote at your polling station.
You can register online in advance until Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. local time.
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You can also vote by mail for those who do not wish to attend a polling station in person. To do so, you can request a vote by mail ballot either online at elections.ca or by contacting any Elections Canada office. The Elections Canada office in Kootenay-Columbia is in Nelson and can be reached at 1-866-545-0621 toll free.
There is also an office based in Radium which can be contacted at 1-866-271-5377.
The deadline to request your ballot is Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m. local time.
A mailed ballot must be received by Elections Canada by the time polls close in your riding on election day, so it is important to plan ahead. Ballots can be dropped off on election day at any polling station to be received on time.
To vote, you must be a Canadian citizen, be at least 18 years old on election day and prove your identity and address, according to Elections Canada.
There are three options to prove your identity and address:
1. Show one of either your driver’s license or any other card issued by a Canadian government with your photo, name and current address.
2. Show two pieces of ID, both of which must have your name and at least one must have your current address, such as a voter information card and a bank statement, or a utility bill and a student ID card.
3. If you don’t have ID, you can still vote, if you declare your identity and address in writing and have someone who knows you and who is assigned to your polling station vouch for you.
A full list of acceptable government ID is on the Elections Canada website.
