Get ready to vote on campus
Elections Canada will be opening an office at the University of Manitoba to increase the student vote.
“We are pleased to be working with Elections Canada to give University of Manitoba students greater opportunity to vote in this election,” says President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. David T. Barnard. “I encourage all eligible students to take the time to get informed and cast a ballot.”
What is unique about this office is that students can cast a ballot regardless of where their home is located. This is part of a pilot project to help make the voting process more accessible to students.
“I am extremely pleased that Elections Canada has chosen the University of Manitoba as one of its 39 locations at post-secondary institutions. Measures that simplify the voting process for students will serve to promote civic engagement and increase voter turnout among the student population,” says Jeremiah Kopp, President of the University of Manitoba Students’ Union.
Eligible voters (Canadian citizens who will be 18 or older on Election Day) are encouraged to visit the Elections Canada office to get information, register and vote on site. Unlike advance election- day polling stations, which serve only those whose home is within that particular riding, Elections Canada offices are open to all voters, regardless of where in Canada they may live.
Voting will be by special ballot: votes will count in the riding where the voter’s home address is located, wherever that may be. For this reason, Elections Canada offices are particularly convenient for voters who are living outside their riding during the election period.
The Elections Canada office at the U of M will be open in the Pembina Hall student lounge, 26 MacLean Crescent, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on October 5-8. For more information, visit www.elections.ca.
Although no one will be turned away from the polling booths, Elections Canada asks that staff and faculty consider voting at their designated voting stations. The goal for these centres is to promote student engagement and to ensure voting is as quick and easy for students as possible.
