Almost 70,000 people have already cast their ballots in Manitoba's election

More than 69,000 people have already cast their ballots ahead of Manitoba's upcoming election in October that could be thanks to changes that have made iteasier to vote this year,an election official says.

Manitobanscan nowcast ballots at any of the 300 polling stations across the province, instead of being restrictedto the stationclosest to their home, Elections Manitoba chief electoral officer Shipra Verma said Monday.

"So if you're going to work, we have convenient voting locations, like in Winnipeg Square. We have it at the malls. We have it at the universities and colleges," Verma told CBC Manitoba Up to Speed host Faith Fundal, adding places like hospitals, First Nations communities and the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport alsohave advance polling stations.

"We are trying to take voting to where people are," Verma said.

Elections Manitoba spokesperson Jack Rachsaid there are five more advance voting stations this year than there were in 2019, and the organizationis working to promote the idea that voters can cast their advance ballots anywhere.

The votes cast so far include roughly 32,000 ballots filled out on Saturday, the first day of advance polling. That's well over 22,000, the highest numbercounted in a single day during the 2019 election advance polls, Rach said.

In the first few days of advance polling this year, about 69,000ballots were cast, which represents about 61 per cent of the total 113,000 advance polls in 2019, Verma said.

And with advance voting running until Saturday, there are still five more days for people to get their ballots in early, she said.

The apparent uptick in advance voting could be due in part to "more awareness and more convenience for advance voting," Verma said.

"It depends on what the voter's motivation is. It could be [that it appears to be] a close race. It could be we are right there at the right time and it's an opportune time to vote."

Verma said while there were a couple of issues with new electronic voting technology, theyappear to have been sorted out now. And in the event there are technological issues, polling stations all still have the manual process available to use, she said.

How to vote

To vote, you must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old on election day and a resident of Manitoba for at least six months before election day.

You also have to bring one piece of government-issued photo ID with your address or two other pieces of ID. Your voter information card can be used as one piece of ID.

Advance polls are open until Sept. 30.You can find advance voting locations and operating hours, generally from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.,online.

Election day polls will beopen from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 3.