Toronto opens advance polling, with hopes of record turnout

Torontonians, get voting.

Advance polls are open from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, with city officials hoping that the early voting will build upon a record year in 2014.

• Don't know whoto vote for? Use Vote Compass to figure out the differences between candidates

In the last election, 161,147 people cast a ballot during a six-day advance voting window a 108 per cent increase over 2010. A city report fondly calls it an "election within an election."

This year, Toronto's municipal votehas taken on even more importance after Premier Doug Ford's unprecedented move to slash the size of city council nearly in half. Across the city, long-time councillors are squaring off, while newcomers are hoping to break through.

Eligible voters should have received a voter card by now, but if not you can access it via the city's MyVote site. You'll also need to bring a piece of identification with your name and qualifying Toronto address a driver's licence or utility bill, for example, to the polling station.

You can find the advance voting locations in your ward on your voting card or the MyVote site. Or, you can cast a ballot at city hall for the full Toronto politics experience.

Election day is Oct. 22.

Then again, why wait?

• Click here for full coverage of Toronto's municipal election