I don't like the candidates — can I cast a protest vote? Answering your voting questions

Mouhamad Rachini · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 24, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

This communicative came from assemblage members, similar you, who got successful interaction with us. Send your predetermination questions to [email protected].

A record-breaking 7.3 cardinal Canadians formed their ballots for the national predetermination successful beforehand polls implicit the agelong weekend, according to an estimation by Elections Canada.

The non-partisan bureau said based connected its preliminary figures, that marks a 25 per cent summation from the 5.8 cardinal electors who voted successful beforehand during the 2021 national election.

Françoise Enguehard, a determination media advisor successful the Atlantic portion for Elections Canada, told CBC News it's excessively aboriginal to accidental whether the record-high turnout volition pb to higher elector turnout for the predetermination overall, but said it's a motion that Canadians are "engaged."

That engagement has led to galore questions astir voting successful the Ask CBC News inbox. We've already answered immoderate of the astir often asked queries, but we're inactive getting much questions.

As predetermination time connected April 28 creeps ever closer, present are answers to much of your astir pressing voting questions.

How bash I cognize if my mail-in ballot has been received?

Elections Canada volition not proactively interaction you to corroborate erstwhile your ballot was received, but determination are ways to cheque yourself. 

If you applied online to ballot from wrong your electoral district, you tin cheque the presumption of your ballot done the online elector registration service. You volition person to usage the notation fig you were fixed erstwhile you submitted your request.

Otherwise, you tin cheque the presumption of your exertion oregon returned ballot by calling Elections Canada astatine 1-800-463-6868 (toll-free successful Canada and the U.S.). People who are deaf oregon hard of proceeding tin telephone 1-800-361-8935 (toll-free successful Canada and the U.S.).

Elections Canada says it tin lone corroborate a mail-in ballot's presumption erstwhile it has arrived and been processed. It's important to enactment that the ballot whitethorn beryllium successful the message strategy for respective days.

Mail-in ballots formed by electors from wrong their riding indispensable marque it to their section Elections Canada bureau by the clip polls adjacent connected predetermination time to count. Those formed by electors from extracurricular their riding indispensable marque it to Election Canada's Ottawa office by 6 p.m. section clip connected predetermination time to count.

Why can't I ballot online?

Elections Canada says it has nary plans to present online voting. 

"Online voting is conscionable not unafraid enough: If an predetermination were hacked, our ideology would beryllium nether threat. It's excessively risky," Elections Canada says connected its website. 

Even if it wanted to present online voting, Elections Canada says it's up to Parliament to modify the Canada Elections Act to alteration the mode radical ballot successful Canadian elections.

LISTEN: How harmless is your ballot this election?

I person 2 addresses due to the fact that I ain a cottage and a home. Can I ballot successful each riding?

No, you lone get 1 vote. If you unrecorded successful 2 locations, Elections Canada says you should registry utilizing whichever code you see your home. 

There are measures successful spot to guarantee electors don't ballot twice. For example, if an exertion for a peculiar ballot is accepted and you person a voting kit — which you'll request to ballot by message — your sanction is struck from the elector database that's kept astatine the polls.

If you bash amusement up connected predetermination time and find your sanction struck out, you'll person to explicate what happened to the voting kit you were sent. If you didn't person your kit oregon misplaced it, you'll person to curse an oath that you person not already formed a peculiar ballot. 

You volition past beryllium allowed to vote. But you'll beryllium counted arsenic having voted in-person and having received a voting kit. Elections Canada volition past verify against their records of mail-in ballots to marque definite you person formed lone 1 vote.

WATCH: Does utilizing a pencil let ballot tampering?

If you are recovered blameworthy of intentionally requesting a 2nd ballot, you tin beryllium fined up to $50,000 oregon jailed for up to 5 years.

Can I registry a protestation ballot if I don't similar immoderate of the candidates?

Although immoderate provinces let voters to registry a protestation ballot by declining a ballot for a provincial election, there's nary authoritative mode to bash that successful a national election.

"There is nary process successful the Canada Elections Act to protestation oregon diminution a ballot or ballot 'none of the above.' If a ballot is formed without choosing a candidate, it is considered rejected," Elections Canada told CBC News successful an email. 

If an elector puts a people beside much than 1 candidate's sanction it volition besides beryllium recorded arsenic a rejected ballot. Basically, immoderate clip an elector casts a ballot that cannot beryllium counted for a campaigner successful their riding, it volition be considered rejected.

If a voter immediately returns the unmarked ballot to the polling presumption attendant and ne'er casts it, it won't beryllium recorded arsenic a protestation ballot either. In that case, it volition beryllium marked as a spoiled ballot.

Spoiled ballots — a ballot that does not get enactment successful a ballot container — also include ones handed backmost to a canvass presumption worker after a mistake was made.

WATCH: Fact-checking claims from the main enactment leaders

The rejected and spoiled ballots are inactive tracked arsenic portion of the counting process, but Elections Canada says the crushed they were rejected oregon spoiled does not get reported.

That hasn't stopped immoderate radical from publically protesting connected predetermination day. In 2000, Marika Warner blended her national predetermination ballot into a smoothie and drank it successful protestation astatine an Edmonton polling station. 

But what Warner did was considered an offence nether the Elections Act. She and a fewer different members of the Edible Ballots Society were charged with destroying their ballots, though she told CBC successful 2019 that the charges were yet dropped.