Nearly 1 million Canadians have requested mail-in ballots as deadline approaches

The number of Canadians opting to vote by mail in next week's federal election will likely end up far lower than Elections Canada's initial estimates.

The organization said just last month that it was bracing for a massive surge in mail-in ballot requests as Canadians looked for alternative voting methods amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys conducted by Elections Canada suggested that between two and three million Canadians would vote by mail this year, up from about 50,000 during the 2019 election. But with just one day left for voters to request mail-in ballots, only 985,000 Canadians have done so. About 52,000 of those requests were made by Canadians living outside the country. In 2019, such voters accounted for the majority of mail-in requests. People voting by mail receive what Elections Canada calls "special ballot voting kits." The kits do not include a list of candidates — voters must instead write the name of their chosen candidate on the ballot. Voters who request mail-in kits are also not permitted to vote in-person during advance polls or on election day. If you'd like to vote by mail but haven't requested your ballot yet, you can apply online at this web site. The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 6 p.m.