Free Transit on Election Day

Free Transit

The City of Saskatoon will be providing FREE TRANSIT on election day (Monday, October 19, 2015).

Everyone will be able to hop on the bus no questions asked on Monday, October 19, 2015. This is exciting news for Saskatonians and will hopefully allow the opportunity for many to get to polling stations.

 

When to Vote

Monday October 19th. Polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Federal law requires anyone who is eligible to vote must have three consecutive hours to cast their vote on election day. If your hours of work do not allow for three consecutive hours to vote, your employer must give you time off. Sadly this does not necessarily mean three hours off of work! Only that employers must ensure that you have three hours of time when polls are open, with no loss of pay. Find out more about time off for voting from Elections Canada.

 

Where to Vote

Not sure where your polling station is? Check out Elections Canada and enter your postal code in the voter information tab and hit “go”.

 

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You will then get a page that tells you what your electoral district is. On the right hand side click the link in the frequently asked questions labeled “where do I vote?”. After entering your street, city, and province, hit “search” and then you can see a map and details of your poling station with information on accessibility.

 

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Getting There

How do I get to my polling station? Here are a few ways to plan your trip:

1. Use Google Maps to plan your route;

2. Use TransitApp  to plan your route;

3. Saskatoon Transit’s real-time web application to check the arrival of your bus. Watch this video for more information on how to use this feature; and

4. Call Saskatoon Transit’s customer service line at 306-975-3100.

 

Don’t Forget Your Identification

Not sure what ID to bring? No worries, go here to see a list of acceptable ID. You DO NOT need a photo ID to vote. If you do not have a photo ID, you can show two pieces of ID where one contains your current address, including, but not limited to, your health card, birth certificate, social insurance number card, and many others. If you do not have an ID with your current address, you can take an oath, show two pieces of ID and have someone who is registered in the same polling division attest for you (swear they know you and your current address). If you have someone attest for you, keep in mind they can only attest for one person.

 

You Matter

And to those who don’t think their one vote matters? In the last Federal election in 2011, the riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming in Ontario had 225 spoiled or rejected ballots and the winner was decided by a margin of 18 votes. As recently as this spring, the Calgary-Glenmore riding in the Alberta Provincial election was decided by six (yes, 6) votes.

Get out and vote!  Apathy is the enemy of Democracy.

Stephan Simon

Stephan is frequently cynical and has an on again, off again interest in politics and holding our public officials to account, mostly at the municipal level. Despises hypocrisy. A number cruncher born and raised in Saskatoon. Mmmm, crunchy numbers. Blogs at yxesimonsays.wordpress.com and tweets @yxesimonsays