More than 55,000 ballots cast this morning in Ontario

To kick off election day in Ontario, over 55,000 electors cast ballots around the province this morning.

According to Elections Ontario, voting began at 9 am in 7177 voting locations across 124 electoral districts.

On Wednesday, Elections Ontario said that around 768,895 voters participated in advance voting this year, which is almost 19% higher from the last provincial election. The number is up from the 647,261 electors who voted at advance polls in 2014.

For the first time, Elections Ontario rolled out the use of e-Poll books and vote tabulators across the province, and the new technology has resulted in shorter wait times for voters.

Today, 50% of the polls will have vote tabulators and e-Poll books serving 90% of electors.

But because some polls have unavoidable delays, the Chief Electoral Officer of Ontario has authority to extend voting hours where there have been delays.

As such, these polls will be closing later:

• Glengarry – Prescott-Russel – Poll 012 – closing at 10:30 pm ET
• York South-Weston – Poll 406 – closing at 9:40 pm ET
• Kiiwetinoong – Poll 032 – closing at 12 am CT

In general, polls will be open until 9 pm.

See also

• Advance voting up 19% from last Ontario election
• Here's how to vote in Ontario's General Election today
• 7 Ontario polling stations to remain open later due to technical difficulties