More Burlington voters cast their ballots online in this month's municipal election than walked into a polling station on Voting Day. The City's official count shows 26,444 votes came in online between Oct. 14 and 25, compared with 25,422 cast at the 24 voting locations on Monday, Oct. 26, a gap of 1,022.
In-person voting still came out ahead overall. Advance polls on Oct. 17 and 20 drew another 4,997 votes, enough that ballots cast in person, at advance polls and on Voting Day together, outnumbered online ones.
Online voting has gained ground since the last election. In 2022, about 38% of Burlington ballots were cast online. More people voted overall this time, too: 56,863 of the city's 160,089 eligible voters took part, a turnout of 35.5%, well up from 27.6% four years ago. The numbers alone don't show whether easier online access drove that jump.
| Year | Eligible voters | Ballots cast | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 142,218 | 39,217 | 27.6% |
| 2026 | 160,089 | 56,863 | 35.5% |
The online window also ran longer than planned. The City pushed the deadline from Friday, Oct. 23 to Sunday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. after a mailing error left 5,000 Voter Information Letters undelivered to households in Ward 6. Those letters were needed to vote online. How many of the online votes came in during the two extra days hasn't been reported.
To cast a ballot online, voters confirmed their identity in two steps by email or text message. The City says its platform runs on secure servers in Canada and meets the technical requirements of the Digital Governance Standards Institute.
The newly elected council and school trustees serve from Nov. 15, 2026, to Nov. 14, 2030. The City hasn't said whether the shift toward online voting will change how many polling stations it opens or how long the online window runs when Burlington votes again in 2030.
