Live from Quebec, it's election day
Since 1948, an average of 76 per cent of Quebecers have shown up to vote. Will you be among them?
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Thirty-nine days and it all comes down to this.
Here's what you need to know on ELECTION DAYYYYY:
The Breakout
By Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, @jkdamours
Three official leaders debates, seven days of advance polling, thousands of kilometres travelled along the campaign trail on party buses and planes, and 39 days later — election day is finally upon us!
Over 1.1 million Quebecers have already cast their ballots in advance polling. That adds up to just under 18 per cent of eligible voters. Four years ago, 19.3 per cent of Quebecers voted in advance polls.
Just how many people will end up voting today, after polling stations open at 9:30 a.m., remains to be seen. But since 1948, an average of 76 per cent of Quebecers have shown up to vote.
By comparison, Ontario recently saw a historically good voter turnout, but it still paled in comparison to things here. Fifty-eight per cent of eligible Ontarians went out to cast their ballots in June, up from 51.3 per cent in 2014.
In the last Quebec election that same year, 71.4 per cent of eligible voters came out.
Now's the time to make your choice.
The Breakdown
So you're going to vote! Great! The polls open at 9:30 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
First off, we sure hope you're on the list of electors, because if not, you're out of luck. You can check that here or by calling 1-888-ELECTION.
You should have received two cards from Élections Québec by now. Your reminder card is the second one they sent, and it has the address of your polling station and the names of the candidates running in your riding on it.
Didn't get the card? No biggie — you don't need it. You can look up the info on where to vote this website.
What you do need, though, is one of the following pieces of photo ID:
- Health insurance card.
- Driver's licence.
- Canadian passport.
- Certificate of Indian Status.
- Canadian Armed Forces identification card.
If you have your reminder card, bring it — it will help speed up the process.
Once you arrive, someone will be there to guide you to the end. Hurray for civic duties!
How to watch
You've made it this far, so obviously you're going to want to tune in tonight and take part in the fun. Follow along with us — we've got you covered.
If radio is your thing, tune in to CBC Radio One at 8 p.m. Let Mike Finnerty, Susan Campbell, Bernard St-Laurent and Joanne Bayly be your guides for the evening.
On TV, we'll have an hour-long show at 6 p.m. with Debra Arbec, Nancy Wood and Éric Grenier, then the main event at 8, with Debra, Nancy, Éric and Sean Henry. The TV special also be streamed on our website, Facebook, YouTube, and Periscope pages.
Our website (we know you have it bookmarked, but here it is, just in case) will feature interactive results so you can see what's happening in your area, follow races you're interested in and track all 125 ridings in real time.
Phew. We made it! It was one heck of a ride and, if the polls are any indicator, it's going to be one heck of an election night.
See you on the other side,
-Melinda Dalton, social media editor