Note: updates will be posted to Bluesky before being copied to this liveblog. Follow Joey Coleman on Bluesky.
Good evening Hamilton. I am at the City of Hamilton’s Ward 8 by-election administration centre, where they will be counting the ballots beginning at 8:00 p.m. tonight.
MORE VOTING INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE CITY WEBSITE HERE.
Ward 8 voters are heading to the polls today to elect a new City Councillor to fill the vacancy created by John-Paul Danko’s election as Member of Parliament for Hamilton West – Ancaster – Dundas in the April federal election.
Already, a few records have been broken in this race.
Record Number of Candidates: There are 26 certified candidates in this election, the highest number of council candidates in any Hamilton election race since amalgamation in 2001.
Record Advance Voter Turnout: A record 2,320 ballots were cast during advance polls on Saturday and Sunday. This exceeds the 2022 regular election, when 1,796 valid ballots were cast during advance polls.
9:40 p.m.
ROB COOPER WINS
TOTAL VOTES: 5,835
Turnout is 20.85 percent.
9:40 p.m.
Awaiting three more polls
We are awaiting the results from three more polls.
8:55 p.m.
A Ballot Marked With Pen – From a Seniors Care Facility Poll
City Clerk Matthew Trennum informed the scrutineers there is a ballot that was marked with pen. The tabulator could not read it.
He stated the ballot intent was “clear” and then asked if any campaigns objected to it being counted.
Campaigns all agreed to count the ballot. The ballot was reviewed to ensure it was clear, it was, and Trennum used a marker on the ballot.
8:45 p.m.
Transparency, Transparency, and More Transparency
City Clerk Matthew Trennum and City Elections Manager Tammy Reeves have made transparency a key part of how they’ve run the Ward 8 By-Election.
They are permitting photography of the counting. They want the public to see what is happening in the counting room.
There are seven scrutineers from various campaigns, and two candidates (Colleen Wicken and Ralph Agostino) here in the counting room.
This is part of democracy, scrutineers ensure everything is done properly.
City staff begin by showing the scrutineers that the starting count is ZERO for all candidates.
8:35 p.m.
Ballot Boxes Have Arrived
The first ballot boxes from the Election Day polling locations are now arriving.
8:25 p.m.
Nothing to Report
Candidates and scrutineers are waiting for the counting to begin. [This is entirely normal. Procedures are required to be followed at the polling locations before transport to the counting room.]
8:02 p.m.
Polls are Closed!
With one minute remaining, I was standing outside the Westmount polling location.
At 7:59 p.m., a woman with two children dashed into the building. They were the final ones to make it on time. One person arrived at 8:01 p.m., and was properly turned away.
(I chose not to use the photo I took, because the photo includes the children and the woman was so focused on getting into the building she did not see my taking the photo)
7:52 p.m.
Polls are Very Busy, and the City Clerk is Getting Ready to Count
I just spoke with scrutineers from three of the campaigns. They tell me that every poll has been very busy since around 5:00 p.m.
One told me the tabulator “was being fed ballots as quickly as they could feed them” for around a 15-minute stretch around 7:00 p.m.
As noted below, 5100 votes had been cast as of 6:00 p.m. (including the advance ballots).
There is growing optimism among everyone in the Elections HQ room that voter turnout will be comparatively healthy for a by-election.
Minutes ago, the City Clerk moved advance ballot boxes out of the secured room they’ve been locked in. They are now positioned near the tabulator for counting at 8:00 p.m.
7:25 p.m.
No Batmobile, But The Whitehead-Mobile is Parked Out Front (And Khokhar is Circling)
Former Ward 14 Councillor Terry Whitehead didn’t bring out his batmobile (Whitehead rented a replica batmobile earlier in the campaign, promising to be Hamilton’s Batman) today, but his campaign does have a van plastered in Whitehead signs parked across the street from the Westmount polling location.
Candidate Asuf Knokhar’s campaign is circle with a pick-up truck.
Who knows, Khokhar could be driving. The darkness of the tint is such that nobody can see into the vehicle.
7:15 p.m.
5100 ballots cast thus far. All Good at Polling Stations
City Clerk Matthew Trennum states that approximately 5,100 ballots (including the 2,320 advance ballots) have been cast as of 6:00 p.m.
All polling stations opened on-time at 10:00 a.m. as scheduled.
I do not expect further count updates until polls closed. All polls are very busy at present, as should be expected. The final hour is always the busiest.
Here at Westmount Recreation Centre, there are around two dozen people in line. Things are moving quickly, with new voters arriving in a steady stream.
Production Details
Published: September 22, 2025
Last updated: September 22, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
I was disappointed that they did the advance polls prior to this weekend at City Hall. If the numbers are any indication, it shows that people didn’t want to travel all the way down there to vote. I hope that the new councillor takes that up with the elections committee. I think it have a very negative effect on voter turnout for the overall election.
Hi,
Wonderful to hear from you!
The City Hall advance poll did not require additional staff resources. It was a kind gesture for those who really needed to vote early and could not make it to the weekend polls.
We had record advance voter turnout, people got out over the weekend to vote.
The question for future by-elections is how to do a special advance within the ward. I fully agree.
Well done, Joey! Thank you.
Happy to see the voter turnout has picked up. It is now 10 p.m. but hard to access the full results of the Ward 8 vote. Disappointed.