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Federal election: vote at Concordia!

Cast your ballot at the university, even if you don’t live in a campus riding
September 29, 2015
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By Shelagh Peden


CORRECTION (October 9, 2015): Due to erroneous information provided to the university by Elections Canada, it had previously been reported that anyone eligible to vote in the federal election could cast their ballots at Concordia. This is not the case. The polls in the J.W. McConnell (LB) Building from October 9 to 12 are in fact restricted to voters who live in the riding of Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs and whose Voter Information Card lists the LB Building as an advance polling station.

PLEASE NOTE: If you cast a ballot on campus between Oct. 5 and 8, your vote is valid.

Check out this handy election day chart to make sure that you're ready to vote.

In 2011, nearly 15 million eligible citizens did not vote in the federal election. Nearly 15M eligible citizens did not vote in 2011.

Concordia has partnered with Elections Canada to make it as easy as possible for the university community to vote on Monday, October 19, 2015.

Students, in particular, are a key federal demographic. In the 2011 federal election, only 38.8 per cent of eligible voters exercised their democratic right, and the number is even lower for those between 18 and 24 years of age: a paltry 31 per cent participated.

For the first time, all students are eligible to vote on campus, even if they don’t live in the same riding as Concordia. Here’s how it works.

Voters have until Tuesday, October 13, at 6 p.m. to update the electoral list, the official list of voters. Why wait? Start by seeing if you’re on the list. If you’re not, use the Online Voter Registration Service to register (and make updates to your record).

Changes can be made on campus, too. Look for Elections Canada in the John Molson (MB) Building atrium on Sir George Williams Campus on October 3 and 4 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., as well as during the times in the locations mentioned below.

If you are already a registered voter, you should receive a Voter Information Card in the mail by October 1. It will give you the address of your polling location as well as the poll number.

If you’re not a resident of a Concordia riding ­— Notre-Dame-de-Grâce–Westmount for the Loyola Campus, and Ville-Marie–Le Sud-Ouest–Île-des-Sœurs for the Sir George Williams Campus — you cannot vote on campus on election day, Monday, October 19. You can, however, place your vote at the Loyola Jesuit Hall and Conference Centre (Loyola) or in the MB atrium (downtown) from October 5 through 8 between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.

On election day, Monday, October 19, polls are open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. in various lobbies of our main buildings. Only those who have been assigned one of the Concordia polling locations on their voter information card can vote at these stations on election day. Refer to your voter information card for the specific location of where you can vote on October 19.

When you vote, be sure to bring a piece of accepted identification with you. The easiest is a driver’s license or any government-issued ID that displays your address. Otherwise, check out the list of other accepted pieces of ID.  

On election day, the university will remain open and all classes, laboratories, academic activities and services will continue as normally scheduled. Election information for managers is available on Cspace. Still have questions? Call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868.

Check out VoteNote! It’s an app designed by a Concordia student to better inform your ballot on October 19.

 

Are you ready to vote on Election Day?

Despite the university offering reduced services for Thanksgiving Day, Monday, October 12, the advance polls remain open that day in the LB atrium.



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