Eager voters will cast the first ballots in Toronto’s municipal election today as the polls open for advance voting.<\/p>\n
City elections are being held across the province on Oct. 22, but timing for advance voting is not standardized between municipalities.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
This year, Tory is going up against former city planner Jennifer Keesmaat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n