A technical glitch in the Elections Ontario system disrupted Ontario’s political parties Thursday, Election Day. A portal supposed to provide parties with data to identify voters who exercised their right to vote failed earlier in the day and they did not have access to this information until 2.15 p.m., when the system was restored .
Parties use this list of names to determine where they should go during the day to boost voter turnout. Since 2018, Elections Ontario has sent this information to parties every 15 minutes through a computer portal. Previously, volunteers were stationed at polling stations to obtain this information.
Under section 47.8 of the Ontario Elections Act, the poll clerk must prepare at minimum intervals of 30 minutes a document identifying the electors who have voted and deliver it to the candidates or their representatives. If the problem had not been resolved, the parties would have had to send volunteers to the various polling stations.
Polling stations are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. across the province. A total of 10,752,406 Ontarians are eligible to vote.
Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are ahead in the polls and heading for another majority government according to several pollsters. The New Democratic Party of Andrea Horwath, the official opposition for the past four years, and the Liberal Party of leader Steven Del Duca, are for their part almost tied in voting intentions.
Last sprint
On Thursday morning, Liberal and New Democrat candidates from the riding of Toronto Center and their volunteers roamed the streets of downtown to meet with voters and urge them to cast their ballots. “Volunteers don’t want to see me in the office,” contestant Kristyn Wong-Tam joked over the phone. When visiting his office on Carlton Street, a few NDP volunteers were working.
The NDP candidate left her post as city councilor to run for the riding. Outgoing MP Suze Morrison, also from the NDP, is not seeking a second term. According to the Canada338 poll analysis site, the NDP and the Liberals have an equal chance of winning Thursday evening in Toronto-Centre. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Kristyn Wong-Tam.
A dozen volunteers worked in the office of Liberal candidate David Morris during the visit of the To have to. He is running for the second time in the constituency and finished second behind Suze Morrison in 2018 with 27% of the vote. David Morris says he feels much better than on Election Day four years ago. ” It’s day and night. The Liberals are back in Toronto Center,” he said.
“Essential to vote”
Some polling stations in the constituency were not very busy when the To have to early Thursday morning. Only 57% of Ontarians voted in the last election and turnout could be even lower this year. Coming out of a polling station on Church Street, those who exercised their right to vote were, however, enthusiastic about doing their civic duty.
“It is essential to vote since many people around the world cannot do so,” explained Jayne Schneider, mask on her nose, at the exit of the polling station. The Toronto voter admitted not having followed the election campaign much, but still made sure to recommend to her colleagues to go and vote on Thursday.
Anton Mostovoy and Georgy Tupchiev moved to Canada four years ago and were voting in a provincial election for the first time after obtaining their Canadian citizenship in April. “We come from Russia, we think it is important to exercise your right to vote”, testified Anton Mostovoy. “No one in the neighborhood votes, they don’t care about the election,” says Georgy Tupchiev.
North of the city, in the riding of Don Valley West, where the fight is fierce between the Liberals and the Conservatives, voters entered St. Leonard’s Church at a steady pace around 1 p.m. “I voted strategically,” admits Mehran on the outside. “I didn’t watch the debate, but I did some research on two of the candidates,” the voter explained.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.