2026 provincial election: advance polling begins Sunday

QUEBEC, Sept. 21, 2026 /CNW/ -- Advance polling will take place on Sunday, September 27, and Monday, September 28. Polling places will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. They will all be accessible to mobility impaired persons.

Electors can find out their advance polling place:

• by consulting the notice of entry they received by mail;
• by visiting the When and where to vote page on the Élections Québec website;
• by contacting the institution by telephone at 1-888-ELECTION.

Advance polling is growing in popularity from election to election. However, it is often faster to vote on election day, since there are nearly four times as many polling places.

What to bring to vote

To vote, electors must present one of the accepted pieces of identification: the health insurance card, the driver's licence, the Canadian passport, the Indian status card and the Canadian Forces identification card.

They can also bring the notice of entry they received in the mail so that election officers can direct them to the right place more quickly, but it is not mandatory to vote.

Before you go vote

Before heading to their polling place, everyone must check if they are properly entered on the list of electors. This is essential to vote. No changes can be made to the list of electors during advance polling and on election day. Electors can check their entry:

• on the notice of entry they received by mail;
• on the Making sure your name is on the list of electors page on the Élections Québec website;
• by telephone, at 1-888-ELECTION.

They can also find out the name of their electoral division by consulting these three sources. This verification can be useful, since these elections are being held based on a new electoral map comprising 127 electoral divisions.

First voting experience

Élections Québec explains how to vote on its website.

People are motivated to vote for various reasons: they may do so to influence decision-making, to fulfill their civic duty, or to exercise a right that is important to them. Voting also means providing financial support to a party or candidate. Indeed, every vote has a financial value. An annual financial support is given to political parties based on the number of votes they get in general elections. In addition, when a party gets at least 1% of the votes, it is reimbursed half of its election expenses. The same applies to candidates who are elected or who get at least 15% of the votes.

Experience democracy as a family

Élections Québec invites parents to experience democracy as a family. There will be small polling stations in all advance polling stations and on election day. They are designed particularly for children ages 3 to 12, but they are open to all young people under 18 who want to learn about the electoral process. Young people will be able to vote by answering a question especially designed for them.

The results will be posted on the Élections Québec website the day after the election. 

Other voting options

Electors who cannot vote in the advance poll or on election day have other options for doing so.

• On September 25 and 26, as well as from September 29 to October 1, they can vote at the office of a returning officer. This option can be useful for people who are outside their electoral division for hunting or for work, for example.
• On September 25 and from September 29 to October 1, students and employees of several educational institutions can vote in their college, vocational training centre, CEGEP, or university.
• Voting teams travel to certain remote or isolated areas, such as workers' camps or northern villages.

Accessibility of polling places

All advance polling places are accessible, as are the offices of returning officers.

On election day, there are many more polling places than during advance polling. Élections Québec attempts to adapt these locations so that they meet all of its accessibility criteria. However, the institution has never been able to find enough accessible polling places for election day; it must cope with existing buildings and the availability of premises. Despite this, more than 94% of the polling places will be accessible on election day.

If a polling place does not meet all of its accessibility criteria, Élections Québec provides this information to the electors who can vote there. It uses the appropriate pictogram on the information card that is mailed to electors to indicate the address of the polling place. In addition, it posts specific information about access to the polling place on its website, such as the width of the door frames, the slope of the access ramp, and if there is parking reserved for persons with disabilities. This way, electors can verify whether they are likely to encounter obstacles based on their personal situation. In this case, they can vote in advance polling or contact the returning officer of their electoral division to obtain authorization to vote at another accessible location.

About Élections Québec

Élections Québec is a neutral and independent agency. Its mission is to ensure the integrity, transparency, and reliability of elections, and to contribute to the vitality of Québec democracy. 

In practical terms, the institution organizes provincial elections in cooperation with the returning officers of the 127 electoral divisions. In addition, it designs and offers several democracy education programs; it ensures compliance with political financing rules; and it acts as a public prosecutor to ensure compliance with Québec's electoral laws.

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SOURCE Élections Québec

Source: Media Relations Department, Élections Québec, 418-644-3320 or 1-888-870-3320, [email protected]