The advance polling stations in Cambridge saw a 25 per cent increase in voters casting their ballots ahead of Monday's election.
According to data provided by Elections Canada, the preliminary number of votes cast at the advance Polls was 18,170, an increase from the 13,687 votes cast at the advance polls during the 2019 general election.
Factoring in mail-in ballots, a total of 19,725 ballots have been cast in the Cambridge electoral district.
In total, 2,335 voting kits were issued to electors living in Canada voting by mail or at an Elections Canada office from inside the Cambridge riding, of which, 1,555 have been returned.
This number is expected to increase marginally as those voting by mail have until election day to return their completed ballots.
A spokesperson from Elections Canada said the use of advance polls has been steadily increasing with each election, however, Elections Canada has not been able to pinpoint the exact reason why.
In addition to the reduction of 32 polling locations in Cambridge on election day, the advance polling locations were reduced from 17 to 12.
Data provided by Elections Canada show the number of advance polls between the previous election and the current election remained the same at 19.
Cambridge voters were among the estimated 5,780,000 electors to cast their ballots across Canada during the four-day window, up from the 4,879,312 electors who voted in advance during the 2019 general election.
Elections Canada reported an 18.46 per cent increase in advance ballots compared to the 2019 election.
Monday’s election day offers local voters 43 polling locations open between 9:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.
Voters can find their polling stations on their voter cards which they received by mail or by visiting the Elections Canada website (elections.ca). You can also call Elections Canada at 1-800-463-6868.
