Advance polls now open ahead of Oct. 21 federal election

Advanced polling began in Toronto and the rest of Canada on Friday ahead of the Oct.21 federal election.

Elections Canada says advance voting will run until 9 p.m. on Friday and will continue from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sunday and the holidayMonday at assigned polling stations.

Electors can cast ballots at assigned polling stations only. There are 1,305 advance polling stations in Ontario and 3,802 in Canada.

To find an assigned advance polling station in a riding, electors can go to the Elections Canada website or call 1-800-463-6868.

Electors can also check the back of their voter identification cards for the location of their assigned polling station. Nearly 27 millionvoter identification cards have been mailed out for the election.

1.3M Ontario voters cast ballots in advance in 2015

In the 2015 federal election,the agency said1,351,796 people cast ballots in advance polls in Ontario. A total of3.6 million peoplecast ballots in advance polls in Canada.

The total number represents a 71 per cent increase from the federal election in 2011, when 2.1 million Canadians voted ahead of election day.

To vote, people need to be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old and prove their identity and address.

Elections Canada says electors have other options when it comes to advance voting. These include voting at any Election Canada office in Canada, or by mail, using aspecial ballot process.

Elections Canada actively hiring people to work on Oct. 21

DugaldMaudsley, regional media adviser with Elections Canada, said the agency is looking to hire poll workers for election day in 14 electoral districtsin the Toronto area.

"They basically extend from places like Davenport through out to Scarborough Southwest.We're just trying to get the word out to people that we're interested in peoplecoming to work for Elections Canada on elections day," he said on Friday.

Maudsley could not say how many workers in all are still needed. He added that the last minute hiring is not unusual.

The jobs pay $15 to $22 per hour andinvolve up to 16 hours of work, including 12 hours on election day itself and up to four hours of training. People must be 16 years of age to apply and need to be Canadian. Peopledon't need a resume and don't need to be bilingual.

Maudsley said information about jobs can be found on the Elections Canada website under its jobs section. There are different roles available, including poll clerks and information officers.

Across the country, Elections Canada hires 300,000 people on election day.

Advance polls to be open for longer this election

In a news release,Chief Electoral Officer Stphane Perraultsaid the number of people voting in advance polls has been growing.

"At the last election, more electors than ever voted early at advance polls," Perraultsaid.

"Advance polls will be open for longer hours, and there will be more advance polling stations to better serve Canadians."

Voters also can cast a ballot at any Elections Canada office until 6 p.m. on Oct. 15. That's the deadline to register to vote by mail.

The agency says on its website that is still hiring people to work on election day.

Canada has more than 27 million eligible voters, most of whom are already registered.