Quebec Votes Today: Hours, ID and Where to Vote

Ottawa's neighbours across the river in the Outaouais are among the Quebec voters casting ballots today, Monday, October 5, in the provincial election. If you, a relative or a colleague will be voting, here is what Élections Québec says you need to know.

When and where to vote

Polling stations are open on Monday between 9:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Élections Québec's own notice says the same thing in French: "Les bureaux de vote sont ouverts de 9 h 30 à 20 h."

To find your polling location, you have three options, according to Élections Québec:

• Check the yellow reminder card that was sent to voters by mail.
• Look it up on the Élections Québec website.
• Call 1-888-ELECTION.

If the yellow card has gone missing, the website and the phone line are the quickest ways to confirm where to go.

What ID to bring

Electors must present one of five accepted pieces of identification:

• the health insurance card
• the driver's licence
• the Canadian passport
• the Indian status card
• the Canadian Forces identification card

The yellow card is a reminder of where to vote, and it is not on that list of accepted identification. Bring one of the five documents above with you.

What is at stake

The province has 127 electoral divisions, each represented at the National Assembly. Voters in every one of them are choosing who will represent their riding.

Turnout is already a talking point. Élections Québec says about 1.6 million electors, or 25.59 per cent, voted at the advance polls held from September 25 to October 1. That means a sizeable share of the ballots was cast before today, and the rest of the electorate has until 8 p.m. to decide.

What led here

The vote follows weeks of campaigning on health care, schools and the cost of living. ottown has been following the run-up from the Ottawa region's side of the border.

CBC News asked local candidates in the Outaouais about social services spending and the challenges of sharing a border with Ontario, which ottown covered in ottown's earlier report. A separate CBC News review of more than three decades of data suggests a provincial government is more likely to break or walk back a pledge than keep it, as we reported in ottown's earlier report. We also covered how women affected by Quebec's secularism laws have been pressing the parties, in ottown's earlier report.

What happens next

Polls close at 8 p.m. today. The facts available at this point cover the voting rules and the advance-poll turnout, and they do not include any results or projections. Check Élections Québec's website for official information once ballots have been counted.

Sources: Élections Québec (news release via Newswire), Élections Québec