Advance polls open today ahead of Toronto municipal election

Eager voters will cast the first ballots in Toronto’s municipal election today as the polls open for advance voting.

City elections are being held across the province on Oct. 22, but timing for advance voting is not standardized between municipalities.

In Toronto, two voting locations in each of the city’s 25 wards, and an additional one at city hall, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today until Sunday.

Toronto’s election campaign has been at the centre of a political storm for nearly two months, ever since Premier Doug Ford announced his plan to slash the size of city council from 47 to 25.

The city says that in 2014, just over 160,000 people cast their ballots in Toronto’s advance vote — making up about 16 per cent of the total.

That election saw current Mayor John Tory unseat incumbent Rob Ford, who did not run for re-election because he was undergoing treatment for cancer.

This year, Tory is going up against former city planner Jennifer Keesmaat.