Voting in Hamilton | City of Hamilton

Exterior shot of Hamilton City Hall in the sunshine with blue sky

It's Time!

Am I on the Voters List?

To receive a ballot for the 2022 Municipal Election, you must be on the Voters List.

Check to see if your name is there!

What You Need to Know

Over the summer, Hamilton’s Election Ambassadors have been engaging with members of the community about the 2022 Municipal Election.

Watch this video to hear important voter information and some frequently asked questions about the 2022 Municipal Election taking place this October.

The Municipal Election is on Monday, October 24, 2022

Who is Eligible to Vote?

Acceptable Identification

Accessibility & Accommodations for Voting

Who Can I Vote for?

What is School Support?

You are eligible to vote if, on voting day, you:

Are a Canadian citizen
Are at least 18 years old
Reside in Hamilton, or are the owner or tenant of land in Hamilton or the spouse of such owner or tenant
Are not prohibited from voting

You are prohibited from voting if you are:

A person who is serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution
A corporation
A person acting as executor or trustee or in any other representative capacity, except as a voting proxy in accordance with section 44.
A person who was convicted of the corrupt practice described in subsection 90(3), if voting day in the current election is less than five years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted.

To receive a ballot at their voting place, electors must present a piece of identification showing their name and address or complete a statutory declaration that they are the elector shown on the voters’ list. Photo identification is not required. In alignment with Ontario Regulation 304/13 made under the Municipal Elections Act, 1996, many documents that can be used to show a person’s name and address.

Acceptable Forms of Identification

An Ontario Driver’s License
An Ontario Health Card
An Ontario Photo Card
An Ontario motor vehicle permit (vehicle portion)
A cancelled personalized cheque
A mortgage statement, lease or rental agreement relating to property in Ontario
An insurance policy or insurance statement
A loan agreement or other financial agreement with a financial institution
A document issued or certified by a court in Ontario
Any other document from the government of Canada, Ontario, or a municipality in Ontario or from an agency of such a government
Any document from a Band Council in Ontario established under the Indian Act (Canada)
An income tax assessment notice
A Child Tax Benefit Statement
A Statement of Employment Insurance Benefits Paid T4E
A Statement of Old Age Security T4A (OAS)
A Statement of Canada Pension Plan Benefits T4A (P)
A Canada Pension Plan Statement of Contributions

A Statement of Direct Deposit for Ontario Works
A Statement of Direct Deposit for Ontario Disability Support Program
A Workplace Safety and Insurance Board Statement of Benefits T5007
A property tax assessment
A credit card statement, bank account statement, or RRSP, RRIF, RHOSP or T5 statement
A CNIB Card or a card from another registered charitable organization that provides services to persons with disabilities
A hospital card or record
A document showing campus residence, issued by the office or officials responsible for student residence at a post-secondary institution
A document showing residence at a long-term care home under the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007, issued by the Administrator for the home
A utility bill for hydro, water, gas, telephone or cable TV or a bill from a public utilities commission
A cheque stub, T4 statement or pay receipt issued by an employer
A transcript or report card from a post-secondary school

Note: Your Voter Notification cannot be used as a piece of identification. Electors who cannot present an acceptable proof of identity may make a statutory declaration at the polling location.

Accessibility for Voting

To prevent and address accessibility barriers for the 2022 municipal election, and to parallel the strategic goals outlined in the City’s Multi-year Accessibility Plan, these key areas were identified and focused on throughout the election planning process:

Communications and Information
- Provide an informative and accessible election website
- Provide election information in alternative formats and through multiple channels
Voting Places
- Ensure all Voting Places are accessible to voters with disabilities
- Ensure all Voting Place access routes and entrances are clearly identified
- Ensure all Voting Place owners and managers are aware of accessibility requirements
- Provide a system to deal with accessibility issues, concerns or complaints
- Provide information on the accessibility features available at each Voting Place

Voting Methods
- Provide accessible voting opportunities
- Provide voting opportunities in institutions and long-term care facilities and for underserved communities
- Provide assistance to voters with disabilities as requested
- Provide instructions on the use of accessible voting equipment
Recruitment & Staff
- Provide accessibility training to all workers who participate in the election
- Ensure the recruitment process for applicants is accessible
Assistant to Candidates
- Provide candidates with access to information in alternative and accessible formats

Learn more about the Elections Accessibility Plan

Time off to Vote

You are entitled to three hours in which to vote on voting day. This does not mean you can take three hours off work to vote. It means you’re allowed to be absent to give yourself three hours of voting time.

Typically, this is at the start or end of your working hours i.e. if your working hours are from 10 am to 6 pm, you are entitled to leave one hour early so that you would have from 5 pm to 8 pm to vote.
Your employer may decide when it would be most convenient for you to be absent in order to vote i.e. if you work from noon to 6 pm your employer may decide that you should come in at 1 pm, rather than leave work at 5 pm.

Vote by Proxy

If you are unable to vote for any reason, on any of the available voting days, you may appoint another eligible elector to vote on your behalf.

Personal Assistance to Vote

If you require assistance at the voting place you may bring a friend along to help or you may ask an election official for assistance.

Your assistant may go behind the voting screen with you however they must make an oral declaration first.

On a Municipal and School Board Election ballot you will see candidates for:

Mayor AND
1 City Councilor for each of the 15 wards AND

School Trustees, depending on your school support:

Hamilton Wentworth District School Board OR
Hamilton Wentworth Catholic District School Board OR
1 Conseil scolaire Viamonde OR
1 Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir

View a list on Nominated Candidates (LINK)

By default, your property taxes support your municipality's English public school board (in Hamilton, that’s the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB). However, you may be able to change the school board that your taxes support if you are interested.

As a property owner in Ontario, you are required to support a school system, even if you do not have children. If you wish to re-direct your school support from the default English-Public to a different board, your choices for boards include:

English Public
French Public
English Separate (Catholic)
French Separate (Catholic)

English Public Voter must:

Be a supporter of the English-language public district school board; or
Not be a supporter of any board, nor have qualified him- or herself as an elector for a separate or French-language school board in the election.

French Public Voter must:

Be a French-language rights holder (see ss. 23(1) and (2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for criteria) who must:
- Qualify as an elector for the French-language public district school board; or
- Be a supporter (or the spouse of a supporter) of the French-language public district school board.

English Separate (Catholic) Voter must:

Be a Roman Catholic who must:
- Qualify as an elector for the English-language separate district school board; or
- Be a supporter (or be the spouse of a supporter) of the English-language separate district school board.

French Separate (Catholic) Voter must:

Be a Roman Catholic and
A French-language rights holder (see the Charter for criteria) who must:
- Qualify as an elector for the French-language separate district school board; or
- Be a supporter (or the spouse of a supporter) of the French-language separate district school board.

Voters

Frequently Asked Questions

You must be a Canadian citizen as well as a resident of Hamilton to be eligible to vote in the Hamilton Municipal Election.

Yes. If you don’t have a permanent residence, the place where you have returned most often to eat or sleep in the past five weeks is considered your home. If you don’t have ID showing both your name and address, a Declaration of Identity - Form 9 can be filled out at any voting location. A person’s declaration regarding the places to which he or she returned to eat or sleep during a given time period is conclusive, in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Yes, when you arrive at your voting location election staff will add you onto the Voters’ List. You will need to bring a piece of ID which shows both your name, and your qualifying Hamilton address.

Yes, when you arrive at your voting location the election staff will look up your information on the Voters List. You will need to bring a piece of ID with your Hamilton address.

If you are a student going to school and living in Hamilton, but consider your “home” to be the place where you live when you are not attending school, which means you plan on returning there, you are eligible to vote in both your “home” municipality and in the City of Hamilton where you currently live while attending school.
If you are a student whose home is the City of Hamilton but you are attending school in another city, you may vote in the City of Hamilton Municipal Election.
If you are unable to vote in person on October 24, 2022, you may choose to vote in an Advance Poll, request a Vote by Mail Package, or you may appoint another elector as Proxy to vote on your behalf.
Students wishing to vote in the City of Hamilton Municipal Election require ID that shows they are currently residing in Hamilton. Students can provide any of the 29 items outlined in the Voter Acceptable Identification, and in Ontario Reg 304/13 as ID so long as it shows their name, and temporary Hamilton address. This can include a document showing campus residence, issued by the office or officials responsible for student residence at a post-secondary institution.

Candidate Nomination Forms and Third Party Registration Forms may be viewed by the public in accordance with the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Documents can be viewed at the Office of the City Clerk from Monday to Friday between the business hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Appointments must be booked to view documents.

Learn more about the Procedure for the Viewing of Election Documents (LINK)

Appointments can be scheduled by contacting:
Office of the City Clerk
Call 905-546-2424 ext. 4408 or
Email [email protected]

Date modified

September 23, 2022