"None of the Above" (NOTA) ballot option

The City of Toronto has never formally studied, commissioned a staff report on, or considered implementing a "None of the Above" (NOTA) ballot option.

Here is why NOTA has not been reviewed at the Toronto City Hall level, along with the provincial rules that govern municipal ballots:

1. Provincial Legislative Barrier

Under Ontario’s Municipal Elections Act, 1996 (MEA), local municipalities do not have the legal authority to design their own ballot options or introduce mechanisms like NOTA.

• Ontario law specifies strict rules for how candidates appear on the municipal ballot and how votes are recorded.

• Unlike Ontario provincial elections—where electors have a statutory right under Section 53 of the Election Act to formally decline their ballot at the polling station (which gets officially counted and recorded)—no such provision exists under the Municipal Elections Act for local city council races.

2. What Happens to Disillusioned Votes in Toronto?

Because there is no NOTA option and no formal right to decline a ballot in municipal elections:

• Spoiled / Rejected Ballots: If a Toronto voter marks "all candidates" or writes "None of the Above" on their paper ballot, it is classified simply as an "invalid / rejected ballot" during counting.

• Lack of Visibility: Rejected ballots are lumped together in post-election summary statistics, making it impossible to distinguish between an intentional political protest vote and an accidental marking error.

3. How NOTA Differs from Ranked-Choice Voting

When the Province briefly granted Ontario municipalities the power to reform their elections between 2016 and 2020, City Council focused almost all its reform debates on Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) rather than alternative ballot options like NOTA. When the Provincial Government repealed ranked ballots in 2020 via Bill 218, Toronto was forced to remain strictly on First-Past-The-Post.