You do not need photo ID to vote on October 19.
With reports of confusion over identification requirements at advance polls in Saskatoon, Elections Canada is clearing things up.
ID requirements are in fact different this year than previous years, Elections Canada Spokeswoman Marie-France Kenny says, but there is no requirement for people to provide photo ID.
What to do if you don’t have photo ID
If people have a driver’s license or ID that contains their name, civic address, and photo, they are clear to vote.
People who don’t possess a photo ID can present two pieces of identification. One of those – for example, a utility bill – must contain your residence’s address.
This is where people on First Nations can run into problems, since they may have postal boxes or reside somewhere different from their mailing address.
In this case, people can register to vote using what’s called a “letter of confirmation of address.”
People can get that from their band or reserve authority, and the letter can be printed off on Elections Canada’s website. For homeless people, food kitchens or shelters that serve them have the authority to fill out that confirmation letter.
Another option besides the letter of confirmation is to get someone from your same polling area to attest to your address in writing.
Elections Canada used to allow people to vouch for an individual’s identity and address.
“This time around you need to sign a note, and only for address and only for one person,” Kenny said.
What if you get your mail in one riding, but live in another?
There’s been even further confusion, for some, on where they should be voting.
“In some cases I hear up north that they will have a postal box in another riding but they live somewhere else close by, in another riding. So that did cause confusion. So people need to know they vote in the electoral district where they reside,” Kenny said.
She said Elections Canada has had an outreach program for several years where “we know we might have issues relative to registration, proving identity” to be proactive and register people to vote before the election.
What ID is acceptable if you don’t have a photo ID?
The identification allowed in the two-piece requirement includes a band membership card. Elections Canada’s website has a full list of those options on its website (to see them, click here)
The deadline to register before polls open on Oct. 19 was Tuesday, Oct. 13 before 6 p.m.
People can register at the polls on Oct. 19, it will just take longer.