No day-of in-person voting in Wilmot

A bit of an unconventional election day on the way in Wilmot Township.

All ballots cast on municipal election day, October 24th, will have to be submitted online or over the phone.

“Having said that, we do have four full days of voting in each ward in Wilmot prior to that,” said Arthur Flach, the Municipal Clerk for the Township of Wilmot. “We have full, in-person voting in each ward in the electors' back yards almost — and this is unprecedented.”

“We only had one advance vote back in 2018 and it was only at the admin complex so there wasn't a lot of turnout there,” he added.

This year, the four advance voting days will be held the two weekends prior to election day Monday, Oct. 15, 16, 22, and 23.

Asked why the change, Flach said a lot of it continues to come down to COVID.

“Primary reason being not knowing what the pandemic will be like, especially in the two weeks after Thanksgiving,” he said. “I don't want all the voters all in one basket, on the last day, crowded, in the event there is a pandemic [flare-up].”

“It just wasn't ethical, it was ignoring what public health was saying… it just doesn't sit well.”

So, with voting spread out across four days in the run-up to election day, the hope is voters intent on casting their ballots in-person will also be spread out.

In addition, the township is also offering a lengthy window for people to cast their votes online or over the phone, beginning next week.

“Internet voting starts on October 14th at 10 a.m. and it runs right through voting day October 24th,” said Flach, adding that means there are 11 straight days where people can cast their ballot over the internet or over the phone. “And I'm encouraging people to vote online, not inline.”

You can find more information about how and when to vote in Wilmot on the township's website.