Special Needs
Do you need help to mark your ballot?
If you have a physical disability or are a senior and require assistance to mark your ballot, you can bring a friend with you to the polling station. This person will be allowed to go behind the privacy screen with you to help you mark your ballot. Your friend can be your child, grandchild, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, or spouse. Or, your friend can really be a friend – but he or she must be on the same List of Electors as you are.
Either way, you and your friend will be asked to take an oath before you cast your vote.
You can also ask the Deputy Returning Officer to help you vote if you prefer.
What if your polling station is not accessible?
It is mandatory that all polling stations have level access. Should it ever happen that your polling station is not accessible to persons with physical disabilities, ask the Returning Officer for a Transfer Certificate. This will allow you to vote at another, more accessible, polling station.
Are you visually impaired?
Ask the polling official for the special template that is available at all polling stations just for persons who are visually impaired. This will help you mark your own ballot.
Voting by the deaf and hard of hearing
You can bring a translator with you if you can speak using sign language.
Women in shelters
If you are in the protection of a shelter at an undisclosed location, you may not want to go to your regular polling station on election day. We understand and respect your reasons and your privacy. We also still want you to be able to exercise your right to vote.
In these circumstances, we recommend you take advantage of the Advance Polls, Special Polls, or the Write-in Ballot process available to you.
Voting when you are Homeless
You do not have to be a homeowner or renter to be able to vote in Nova Scotia. As long as you are a Canadian citizen who will be 18 years of age or older on election day, and you have lived in Nova Scotia for six months before the date the election is called, you have the right to vote. The polling station you vote at is determined by where you live.
If you are staying at a hostel or shelter, you can vote at a polling station in that polling division. You will need to be included on the List of Electors for that area. Fill out the application form you are given or which you’ll find here and take it to your local returning office. There is a different form that you fill out at the poll to be added to the List. An Election Official will verify that you are staying at the hostel or shelter. You will also need to show a document with your name and signature, such as your health insurance card or your social insurance card.
