More than 7,300 Hamilton voters cast ballots on the first advance-poll weekend

What happened

According to the City of Hamilton, 7,310 people voted at the 15 ward advance polls on the first advance weekend of the 2026 municipal election: 3,953 on Saturday, October 3 and 3,357 on Sunday, October 4. Another 331 people voted at Ballot-on-Demand pop-up locations between September 28 and October 2.

The City says ballots from all advance and Ballot-on-Demand polls will be counted on Election Day, Monday, October 26. For comparison, the City reports that 35.38 per cent of eligible Hamilton voters cast a ballot in the 2022 municipal election.

Ward 12's advance poll at the Ancaster Rotary Centre recorded the most votes over the weekend, at 820, followed by Ward 9 at 786 and Ward 10 at 774. Ward 3's poll at the Bernie Morelli Recreation Centre recorded the fewest, at 269. The early Ballot-on-Demand votes were 158 at Lime Ridge Mall on September 28, 33 at Redeemer University on September 29 and 140 at McMaster University on October 2.

Ways to vote after the first advance weekend

• Advance polls: October 10 and 11, and a final weekend on October 17 and 18, 10 am to 6 pm, at one location in each ward. The location list is on the City's Where to Vote page, and all advance polls have assistive voting systems.
• Ballot on Demand at City Hall: Room 192/193, 71 Main Street West, October 13 to 16 and October 19 to 23, 9 am to 4 pm, open to voters from any ward.
• Neighbourhood Ballot-on-Demand pop-ups, open to voters from any ward: after the sites counted above, the City's schedule listed Mohawk College (October 5), the Venture Centre (October 6), the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre (October 7), Neighbour to Neighbour, 28 Athens Street (October 8, 12 pm to 6:30 pm) and YWCA Hamilton, 75 MacNab Street South (October 9, 9 am to 12 pm and 1 to 4 pm).
• Election Day, October 26: any voting location in your ward. The City says most polls are open from 10 am to 8 pm.
• Voting proxy: a voter who cannot vote on any of the available days can appoint another eligible elector to vote for them, using a form certified at the Office of the City Clerk.

New for 2026, voting locations are no longer assigned to individual voters: on Election Day you can vote at any location in your own ward. The City's FAQ states that mail-in voting will not be available in this election.

What to bring

Bring one piece of identification showing your name and qualifying address. You do not need the voter information card that has been mailed to households, and the City says you will not be asked for it. A voter without an accepted document can complete a declaration of identity at the polling location.