Windsor advance polls offering drive-thru voting
Windsor residents can begin casting their votes in the upcoming municipal election this week, with advance polls opening up Wednesday.
The first of eight early voting opportunities opens at 10 a.m. Oct. 5 at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, closing at 8 p.m.
When the weekend rolls around, voters can head to Mic Mac Park on the city’s west side to cast an early vote without even having to leave their vehicle.
Terri Knight Lapain, manager of records and elections for the City of Windsor, says drive-thru voting is back by popular demand, after being used in the 2020 Ward 7 by-election.
“The original thought was it would just be something that people could stay in their vehicle if they were comfortable with that, maybe we do 100 ballots through the drive-thru, but it actually was wildly successful,” says Knight Lapain.
In the end, she says almost 50 per cent of votes cast in the by-election were done so via drive -thru.
In that election, the option was offered at the WFCU centre — and it will return there next weekend, though it will look a little different.
Then, and this weekend at Mic Mac Park, Knight Lapain says lines might look long from the entry way, but cars will diverge into four separate lanes.
Cars will pull into tents and ballots will be handed out, concealed in a security sleeve for you to mark.
Multiple voters can even carpool — and Knight Lapain says there will be options for cyclists and pedestrians on site.
“We do encourage people to take transit even to the drive-thru voting,” she says.
“Walk, cycle, bike, scooter, whatever you want to do.”
Drivers will be greeted by staff in orange vests who will offer direction – and Knight Lapain says voters taking alternate forms of transit an approach those employees to be directed to the polling station, thus not be made to wait amongst cars.
“We’re ready for it, we’re excited about it,” says Knight Lapain.
Will drive thru voting boost turnout?
“In the automotive capital of Canada, I don’t think it should surprise anyone that we have drive-thru voting,” says Jon Liedtke, co-host of the Rose City Politics podcast.
“It’s just so Windsor.”
Voter turnout, just one topic touched upon by the hosts of Rose City Politics on their weekly show.
For Windsor’s 2018 municipal election, 35.21 per cent of eligible voters came out to vote — that figure, even lower than turnout to this summer’s historically low provincial election, which saw 43.53 per cent.
“It’s another tool, right?” adds Don Merrifield Jr. one of the shows other co-hosts.
“We’ve kind of made some jokes about it but it is another way to get people to vote. And I think that’s important in municipal elections. Make it as easy as possible and hopefully we’ll get more turnout.”
A full list of advance voting locations and times can be found online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions
'Oppenheimer' finally premiered Friday in the nation where two cities were obliterated 79 years ago by the nuclear weapons invented by the American scientist who was the subject of the Oscar-winning film. Japanese filmgoers' reactions understandably were mixed and highly emotional.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.