Mail-in voting applications for the mayoral by-election has exceeded the 2022 civic election applications, according to a statement by Elections Toronto.
The news comes ahead of the mail-in voting application deadline closing Friday at 4:30 p.m. for eligible voters.
Although voters still have time to apply, mail-in voting applications have already passed October’s election by thousands.
“The city has so far received almost 10,000 more applications to vote by mail than in 2022 and the deadline has not passed yet,” said Erin George, a Toronto media relations representative.
George said applications have increased to 34,000 as of May 24, 2023, from 25,000 in the 2022 civic election.
The 2022 civic election saw a record-breaking low voter turnout with slightly more than 563,000 ballots being cast, that’s only 30 per cent of eligible voters.
This broke the previous record set in 2018 which saw 41 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in the civic election.
With the by-election being just five weeks away recent polls have indicated that voter turnout could still be a call for concern.
A May 19 survey by Mainstreet Research shows that nearly 26 per cent of eligible voters are still undecided. A separate poll released by Forum Research on May 15 shows that 20 per cent of voters are still undecided.
York University professor of Public Policy and Administration, Zachary Spicer, said that despite voters’ still being undecided, voter-turnout could still be higher than a typical by-election because of the increased level of competition.
“It’s a competitive mayoral election that the city hasn’t seen since 2014, so it’s been a while since it’s been a really competitive race,” he said. “So, I think that’s an indication that people are interested.”
Among the 102 candidates running includes Olivia Chow, former Toronto city councillor and NDP MP, who recent surveys have named the front runner in the election.
Mainstreet Research shows Chow in the lead with 30 per cent of decided voter support.
Spicer said this could be because Chow is connecting well with voters on the left, and the right remains undecided as to who they consider their top candidate.
“She has a pretty clear lane on the progressive-left side,” Spicer said. “There still seems to be a primary on the centre, centre-right where candidates like (Mark) Saunders and (Brad) Bradford are still kind of competing for not just support but voters.”
At an announcement early Friday at the Amalgamated Transit Union office on Wilson Avenue, Chow said she attributed her lead to the connections she has made with voters.
“A poll is really for the pundit, what I’m doing is listening to the workers, listening to the riders, and connecting with them,” she said.
Although Chow remains in the lead as of now, Spicer emphasized there is still enough time for things to change within the campaign.
“There still is a lot of election left, a lot could change, but you have to be pretty satisfied if you are Chow or a Chow supporter right now,” he said.
Advance voting for the mayoral by-election will take place between June 8 and June 13.
Voters head to the polls on June 26, 2023, to choose their next mayor to replace John Tory, who resigned in February after admitting to an affair with a former staffer.