THUNDER BAY — City voters are being offered a first-time opportunity to cast their ballots in Thunder Bay's municipal election from the comfort of their own vehicles.
On Tues. Oct. 18, drive-thru voting will be available at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, between 12 noon and 8 pm.
Returning officer Krista Power, who's also the city clerk, says she borrowed the idea from municipalities in southern Ontario who used drive-thru voting for byelections during peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"We thought we would try it because it's Thunder Bay, and it's October," Power said in an interview Friday.
"If you are a person with a mobility disability, if you are a parent with young kids, you don't even have to get out of your car. In Thunder Bay we've seen people get a COVID test in their car, so we can certainly hand you a ballot so you can vote in your car."
Power said she's trying to provide every opportunity for people to vote in a way that's convenient to them.
Voters planning to vote at the Auditorium on Tuesday should bring the voter information letter they received in the mail, and a valid piece of identification.
Election day is Oct. 24.
Individuals who haven't already voted in advance polls or online can wait until election day to vote in person at their designation polling station, or they can cast a ballot online anytime, 24/7, between now and 8 pm on election day.
More details about voting options and other information is available online.
There are almost 83,000 eligible voters in the city.
As of Friday morning, about 7,600 ballots had been completed, representing about nine per cent of the electorate.
Power said that so far, about 70 per cent of all ballots cast had been cast over the internet.
In the previous election, 60 per cent of all ballots cast up to the point that polls were closed were cast over the internet.
Barely half the electorate participated in the 2018 election, but the 51 per cent turnout was still better than most other Ontario cities.
