Who can vote, which ward counts for you, what ID to bring and when to go. The voting rules come from the City of Toronto's elections website, and the tips for following through come from published research. Each section links to its sources.
Can I vote?
You can vote in Toronto's municipal election if you are:
- a Canadian citizen
- at least 18 years old
- living in Toronto, or, if you live elsewhere, you or your spouse own or rent property in Toronto
- not prohibited from voting under any law
Only Canadian citizens can vote, so international students and permanent residents can't vote in this election. You can vote only once in Toronto, however many properties you own or rent here.
Source: City of Toronto, Who Can Vote ↗
Which ward do I vote in?
You vote in the ward where you live. The City has specific rules for students:
Your family home is outside Toronto
If you live in Toronto to go to school and consider your "home" to be where you live when you're not in school, you can vote in both places: here, in the Toronto ward where you live for school, and in your home municipality.
Your home and school residence are both in Toronto
Vote in the ward where your "home" is, not the ward where your school residence is.
You're from Toronto but study elsewhere in Ontario
You may be able to vote in both municipal elections. In Toronto, vote in the ward where your "home" is.
Not sure which ward an address is in? Look it up on MyVote ↗, then see who's running in Wards 11, 13 and 25 in our candidate guide.
Source: City of Toronto, Who Can Vote ↗
Get on the voters' list
Check that you're on the voters' list and that your details are right, especially if you've moved since the last municipal election. Use MyVote ↗ or call 311 to confirm, add or update your information.
- Online: you can make changes until Sunday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
- In person: after that, you can still add your name at the voting place during advance voting or on election day. You'll need to meet the requirements above and show ID.
- Voter information card: people on the list as of September 20 are mailed a card starting September 28. You can also download one from MyVote. Bring it along, but it doesn't count as ID.
Sources: City of Toronto, Voters' List Information ↗, MyVote ↗ and 2026 election fact sheet ↗
When and where to vote
Advance voting
Tuesday, October 6 to Sunday, October 11
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There are 50 advance voting places, two in each of the 25 wards.
Election day
Monday, October 26
10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Go to your assigned voting place.
Vote by mail
Requests closed on September 24. If you already have a kit, it must arrive by Wednesday, October 14 at noon, by secure drop box or Canada Post.
Voting places can change, so check MyVote ↗ before you go.
Sources: City of Toronto, 2026 election fact sheet ↗ and Voting Places & Ward Maps ↗
What ID to bring
Bring one piece of ID showing your name and your Toronto address. It doesn't need a photo. These are on the City's list and easiest for most students:
- A transcript or report card from a post-secondary school
- A document showing your campus residence, issued by your school's residence office
- A lease or rental agreement
- A utility bill for hydro, water, gas, phone or cable TV
- A bank account or credit card statement
- An Ontario driver's licence or Ontario photo card
You can show a document on your phone if it was issued electronically, but not a photo or scan of a paper document.
These don't count as ID: your voter information card, or your passport, because it doesn't show your address.
Source: City of Toronto, Identification ↗, which has the full list of 18 accepted documents.
What's on the ballot
You'll vote for mayor, for the city councillor for your ward and for a school board trustee. When you arrive, an election official checks your ID against the voters' list and crosses your name off. You then mark your ballot and put it through a tabulator.
Sources: City of Toronto, 2026 election fact sheet ↗ and On Voting Days ↗
Make sure you vote
Most people who mean to vote still need a nudge to follow through. These habits are backed by research.
Make a voting plan
Decide now: what day and time will you vote, where will you be coming from, and what will you be doing just before? Put it in your calendar.
In a study of the 2008 US election, being walked through those questions raised turnout by 4.1 percentage points. For people who were the only eligible voter in their home, it rose by 9.1 points.1
Bring a voting buddy
Pick a friend, roommate or classmate and agree on when you'll go together.
In an experiment with 61 million Facebook users during the 2010 US elections, encouragement to vote spread mainly between close friends, and that ripple effect was bigger than the direct effect of the message itself.2 The voting-plan researchers suggest that people who live with other voters already make plans together.1
Your first vote makes the next one easier
Voting is habit-forming. In a US field experiment, people who were encouraged to vote in 1998 and did so voted at a rate of 63.3% the next year, compared with 16.6% of similar people who hadn't voted.3
Before you go
- You're on the voters' list. Check MyVote ↗ by October 11 at 7 p.m.
- You know where you're voting. It's on MyVote, and it can change.
- You have one piece of ID with your name and Toronto address.
- You've picked a day: advance voting from October 6 to 11, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., or election day, October 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- You've asked someone to come with you.
- Nickerson, D. W., & Rogers, T. (2010). Do you have a voting plan? Implementation intentions, voter turnout, and organic plan making. Psychological Science, 21(2), 194–199. doi.org/10.1177/0956797609359326 ↗
- Bond, R. M., Fariss, C. J., Jones, J. J., Kramer, A. D. I., Marlow, C., Settle, J. E., & Fowler, J. H. (2012). A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization. Nature, 489(7415), 295–298. doi.org/10.1038/nature11421 ↗
- Gerber, A. S., Green, D. P., & Shachar, R. (2003). Voting may be habit-forming: Evidence from a randomized field experiment. American Journal of Political Science, 47(3), 540–550. doi.org/10.1111/1540-5907.00038 ↗
Dates and the checklist: City of Toronto, 2026 election fact sheet ↗, Voters' List Information ↗ and Identification ↗
Accessibility and help
- Voter Assist Terminals let you mark your ballot with a touch screen, audio, braille keypad, sip/puff device or rocker paddle. Every advance voting place has one, and there are two in each ward on election day.
- Curbside voting is available if you can't physically go inside the voting place. A support person tells the election officials inside.
- Help marking your ballot: bring a friend or ask an election official.
- Other languages: voting place staff wear tags showing the languages they speak, and 311 offers phone interpretation in more than 180 languages.
- Can't vote yourself? You can appoint a proxy. The form must be certified in person by the City Clerk by October 26 at 4:30 p.m. Contact Toronto Elections at 416-338-1111 or [email protected].
Source: City of Toronto, Voting Options ↗
For anything else, call 311 or visit toronto.ca/elections ↗.