Voters across Quebec faced long lines on the last day of advanced voting Thursday, with some waiting more than three hours to register and vote.
Elections Quebec said a computer system failure that lasted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday forced some advanced polling stations to close that day. The problem then trickled over into Thursday’s voting day.
“We had a problem with the system that helps us verify who is registered to vote,” said Nathalie Pitre, spokesperson for Elections Quebec.
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Elections Quebec extended the voting hours by two hours on Thursday with polling stations closing at 4 p.m.
Sylvia Andrews was one of the voters who stuck it out at the Pointe-Saint-Charles electoral office.
“Let’s say that three hours for me, I didn’t plan my day that way,” she said. “But I needed to make sure I got to vote.”
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Others like David Lemieux decided to come back and try again on election day.
“I’ve been here twice the system is down again,” he said. “There’s maybe not enough investment into the electoral computer system.”
“It is 2018, so it does not seem reasonable.”
Another system failure on Thursday, this time for 20 minutes, added to the wait times.
Thursday was the last day to vote in advance and the last day to register to vote on Oct. 1.
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Elections Quebec says that those who needed to register and didn’t make the 4 p.m. deadline won’t be able to cast a ballot on Monday.
Anyone with questions or concerns about the process is asked to call Elections Quebec at 1-888-ELECTION.
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