Election 2011: Poll Closing Times
Poll opening and closing times are determined by time zone.
For example, to find the relative closing times of a poll in Toronto, Ontario, which is in the Eastern Time Zone, look along the third row from left to right - that Toronto poll closes at 9:30pm local time (highlighted in bold), which is equivalent to 6:30pm Pacific (looking left) or 11:00pm Newfoundland Time (looking right).
The last polls to close are those in the Pacific Time zone. A ban exists on disseminating the results before the last polls have closed. This will no doubt be challenged by social media users across the country. To see when it is "safe" to Tweet, find in the final row the time that applies to you (e.g. 10:00pm Eastern, if you live in Toronto). My editorial opinion is that this is completely insane and with luck the law will be changed in time for our 42nd election, or the whole nonsense will just be thrown out by the courts. The times are highlighted in red to raise awareness of the law - I am by no means encouraging people to abide by this law, but one must be informed.
Alternatively, to find the closing times of polls across the country in terms of your local time, look up and down - if you live in Toronto, look up and down the sixth column to see that Newfoundland Time Zone polls close at 7:00pm your time, your polls close at 9:30pm your time (highlighted in bold), and the Pacific Time Zone polls close at 10:00pm your time.
This is also the chart for opening times - simply read "am" where "pm". Most of Saskatchewan does not observe Daylight Time, which is currently in effect elsewhere. I could have titled the other columns "... Daylight", but that would have confused even more people. In the few cases where a riding spans more than one time zone (e.g. Nunavut), a common closing time is determined in advance. Results begin to be tabulated immediately after the polls for the riding have closed. For more information, consult the Elections Canada website.
Finally, get out and vote!
Poll Closing Times for the 41st General Election, May 2nd 2011
Zone of Poll
Pacific
Mountain
Central Standard (SK)
Central
Eastern
Atlantic
Newfoundland
Newfoundland
4:00pm
5:00pm
5:00pm
6:00pm
7:00pm
8:00pm
8:30pm
Atlantic
4:30pm
5:30pm
5:30pm
6:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:00pm
Eastern
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Central
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Central Standard (SK)
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Mountain
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Pacific
7:00pm
8:00pm
8:00pm
9:00pm
10:00pm
11:00pm
11:30pm
If you're on Facebook, the mess at the bottom here is due to Facebook not supporting HTML tables. If you look at the original post, you'll see what I mean.
For example, to find the relative closing times of a poll in Toronto, Ontario, which is in the Eastern Time Zone, look along the third row from left to right - that Toronto poll closes at 9:30pm local time (highlighted in bold), which is equivalent to 6:30pm Pacific (looking left) or 11:00pm Newfoundland Time (looking right).
The last polls to close are those in the Pacific Time zone. A ban exists on disseminating the results before the last polls have closed. This will no doubt be challenged by social media users across the country. To see when it is "safe" to Tweet, find in the final row the time that applies to you (e.g. 10:00pm Eastern, if you live in Toronto). My editorial opinion is that this is completely insane and with luck the law will be changed in time for our 42nd election, or the whole nonsense will just be thrown out by the courts. The times are highlighted in red to raise awareness of the law - I am by no means encouraging people to abide by this law, but one must be informed.
Alternatively, to find the closing times of polls across the country in terms of your local time, look up and down - if you live in Toronto, look up and down the sixth column to see that Newfoundland Time Zone polls close at 7:00pm your time, your polls close at 9:30pm your time (highlighted in bold), and the Pacific Time Zone polls close at 10:00pm your time.
This is also the chart for opening times - simply read "am" where "pm". Most of Saskatchewan does not observe Daylight Time, which is currently in effect elsewhere. I could have titled the other columns "... Daylight", but that would have confused even more people. In the few cases where a riding spans more than one time zone (e.g. Nunavut), a common closing time is determined in advance. Results begin to be tabulated immediately after the polls for the riding have closed. For more information, consult the Elections Canada website.
Finally, get out and vote!
Poll Closing Times for the 41st General Election, May 2nd 2011
Zone of Poll
Pacific
Mountain
Central Standard (SK)
Central
Eastern
Atlantic
Newfoundland
Newfoundland
4:00pm
5:00pm
5:00pm
6:00pm
7:00pm
8:00pm
8:30pm
Atlantic
4:30pm
5:30pm
5:30pm
6:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:00pm
Eastern
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Central
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Central Standard (SK)
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Mountain
6:30pm
7:30pm
7:30pm
8:30pm
9:30pm
10:30pm
11:00pm
Pacific
7:00pm
8:00pm
8:00pm
9:00pm
10:00pm
11:00pm
11:30pm
If you're on Facebook, the mess at the bottom here is due to Facebook not supporting HTML tables. If you look at the original post, you'll see what I mean.