How can students vote while on campus? Breaking down Canadian student voting programs
In a previous piece, I discussed the idea of students and their implication in the electoral process. Specifically, I discussed how elementary, middle, and high school students could learn about elections in Canada despite not being legally eligible to vote in them.
This piece will enable that discussion to continue by discussing ways in which postsecondary students can vote despite often living away from their home riding. I will be discussing how students can vote on campus during provincial and federal elections; at the same time, I will make reference to the programs offered provincially and federally that allow university students to cast their ballots despite being away from home.
How does voting on campus generally work?
During elections, university campuses collaborate with provincial/federal election agencies to offer students the chance to vote on campus. By using a special ballot, students living on campus are able to vote as if they were doing so in their home riding.
Federally, this program is known as the Vote on Campus program, and it has been organized in line with three of the last four federal elections (there was no Vote on Campus program in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The federal program also allows for all eligible voters to use the locations.
For Ontario's provincial elections, the guidelines differ slightly. Only students living on campus during the election are able to vote at an on-campus polling station. The province also allows students to vote in either their home or campus riding.
Does it get students to participate?
In total, 256,000 people have voted through the federal Vote on Campus program across three federal elections. 70,000 people participated in 2015, 110,000 took part in 2019, while 76,000 cast their ballots through the initiative in 2025.
Given that the federal program does allow for all eligible individuals to use Vote on Campus locations, it is difficult to determine how many of the 256,000 people are students.
No data has been released regarding the number of students that have participated in on-campus provincial election polling.
Comments