8,500 people apply to vote by mail in Ottawa's municipal election

Approximately one per cent of eligible voters have applied to vote by mail in this fall's municipal election.

The deadline to apply to vote by special mail-in ballot in the Oct. 24 municipal election is 4:30 p.m. Friday (Sept. 16). Residents can request a special mail-in ballot online or in-person at the Elections Office on Cyrville Road.

As of Thursday afternoon, approximately 8,500 applications have been filed to vote by special mail-in ballot in the 2022 election.

Manager of Municipal Elections Michele Rochette tells CTV News Ottawa the number of voters casting a ballot through the mail is subject to change during processing, as applications can be submitted in multiple formats.

Special mail-in ballot voter kits with instructions on how to cast your special mail-in ballot will be mailed the week of Sept. 26.

This is the first municipal election Ottawa residents can vote by mail for mayor, councillor and school board trustee. Mail-in balloting was used for the Cumberland ward byelection in 2020. In Cumberland ward, 1,234 votes were cast by special mail-in ballot, accounting for 3.4 per cent of all votes cast in the byelection.

The city estimated it would cost $653,642 to offer mail-in balloting during the election.

The most recent eligible elector count for the City of Ottawa was 633,946 for the 2018 Municipal Election.