The City of Ottawa says nearly half of the more than 5,000 special mail-in ballots that were issued for Monday’s municipal election were not received by the Oct. 16 deadline. This is the second municipal election in Ottawa to include mail-in balloting. Voters were also able to cast votes by mail in 2022. On Tuesday, voters who were issued special mail-in ballot kits that were not delivered to the elections office by 8 p.m. on Oct. 16 were notified by email that their ballot was not received on time and would not be counted. Several voters said on Reddit that they received the emails, despite mailing their kits out with ample time to be shipped. In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, City Clerk Caitlin Salter MacDonald said the elections office approved and issued Special Ballot Voter Kits to 5,511 eligible voters in Ottawa. The Elections Office received 2,957 Special Ballot Voter Kits by the deadline. “Following a review of the kits received by the deadline and confirmation of electors who had voted during special advance voting or advance voting days, the Elections Office determined that 2,494 electors had not returned their Special Ballot Voter Kits by the deadline and had not voted during advance voting days,” Salter MacDonald said. “On October 20, the Elections Office contacted these electors to advise them that their kits had not been received by the deadline and to outline their additional opportunities to vote.” In 2022, 10,179 mail-in ballot kits were issued and 8,685 were received on time. It is unclear why so many special ballot kits were not received for the 2026 election. “The Special Mail-in Ballot timelines were established by the City Clerk in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. The timelines took into consideration Canada Post’s delivery standards and was intended to provide sufficient time for ballots to be delivered to electors and returned to the City of Ottawa’s Elections Office. Electors had the opportunity to return their ballot kits by mail or drop them off at the Elections office or any City of Ottawa Client Service Centre. The established deadline also ensured that the Elections Office was able to notify electors if their ballots were not received and that there were remaining opportunities for electors to vote in another manner,” Salter MacDonald said. The city also said it worked directly with Canada Post to ensure they were aware of the return deadline and to expedite processing of mail-in ballots wherever possible. “While Canada Post’s standard delivery timelines indicated that this timeframe would generally be sufficient, mail service and delivery remains outside the control of the municipality,” Salter MacDonald said. Canada Post said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa that it had a team working with the city to assist in election mailings. “We take great care in processing and delivering all mail items, and we certainly understand the importance of mail items relating to elections at all levels,” a spokesperson said. “As there is no tracking system for these individual pieces, we may not be able to determine when these specific mail items were deposited or when they arrived at the destination. Our Ottawa Operations team indicates that mail items in our network were delivered without delays or backlogs during the week of October 5 and 12, noting October 12 was Thanksgiving holiday.” Canada Post says customers who have questions or concerns can contact their customer service team online at canadapost.ca/support or by telephone at 1-866-607-6301 (TTY: 1-800-267-2797). The city, meanwhile, says voters whose mail-in ballots were not received on time and who did not vote in any advance polling days will still be able to vote in-person on Oct. 26. “Electors who are unable to vote in person on Voting Day should contact the Elections Office as soon as possible for assistance. Staff will help identify the options available to ensure electors are able to participate in the election, including assistance with the proxy voting process,” Salter MacDonald said. Details about voting by proxy can be found on the city’s website. For information on where to vote in-person on election day, refer to the voter information letter that would have been mailed to you earlier this fall, or use the city’s “Where Do I Vote?” tool.
