The election of “change” is there.

Today, after weeks of candidate and door-to-door debate, Hamiltonians head to the polls to elect a new mayor, along with councilors and school trustees.

And no matter what, the city will see the biggest turnover around the council’s horseshoe since the merger more than two decades ago.

Most polling stations close at 8 p.m. and the results — including those from nearly 32,000 ballots cast earlier this month in advance or special ballots — will be tabulated shortly after.

Ninety-one candidates are running for council, including nine for mayor and 82 from Hamilton’s 15 wards. 59 other contenders are vying for the school board seats.

Scroll down for the latest news on the municipal elections.

5:18 p.m. – Delays spur extended voting hours

Several delays at polling places prompted Hamilton’s city clerk to extend voting hours in a dozen locations using emergency provisions under the Municipal Elections Act.

All polling stations were to close at 8 p.m. In some cases, polling stations will only be open for a few extra minutes. But at least one will remain open for another hour and 20 minutes.

This means that no election results will be made public before 9:20 p.m.

Extended duration surveys include:

Ward 3: Dream Center (opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m.)

Ward 6: Richard Beasley Elementary School (opens 10:25 a.m. and closes 8:25 p.m.), Salvation Army Mountain Citadel (opens 10:15 a.m. and closes 8:15 p.m.) and Huntington Park Recreation Center (opens 10:05 a.m. and closes 8:00 a.m. a.m.: 5 p.m.)

Ward 7: Sackville Hill Senior Center (opens at 10:13 a.m. and closes at 8:13 p.m.); Lawfield Arena (opens at 10:10 a.m. and closes at 8:10 p.m.)

Ward 8: Harmony Baptist Church (opens 10:06 a.m. and closes 8:06 p.m.)

Ward 9: St. Paul’s (opens at 10:10 a.m. and closes at 8:10 p.m.)

Ward 12: Royal Canadian Legion (opens at 11:20 a.m. and closes at 9:20 p.m.)

Ward 13: Sir William Osler (opens 10:15 a.m. and closes 8:15 p.m.), Dundas Lions Memorial (opens 10:07 a.m. and closes 8:07 p.m.) and Dundas Valley Secondary School (opens 10:45 a.m. and closes 8:45 p.m.)

3:15 p.m. — Voting machine problems

Voting machine problems have been reported at some locations in Hamilton.

The viewer viewed several social media posts and posts on Monday about the machines not accepting votes, leading to long queues and some cases of voters leaving polling stations.

In a statement, City Clerk Andrea Holland said voters can still vote at designated polling places in the event of technical issues.

“Manual voters lists are at every poll and ballots will be compiled once the tabulators are up and running,” she said, adding that technological issues are “rare” but there are plans. emergency.

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11:00 a.m. — Voting for mayoral candidates

Rival mayoral candidates Keanin Loomis and Bob Bratina cast their ballots shortly after polls opened on Monday.

The former Chamber of Commerce boss voted at Earl Kitchener Primary School in the West End, while the former Liberal MP went to a polling station at Queen Victoria Primary School in the center -town.

The other leading mayoral candidate, Andrea Horwath, has already voted in advance polls but spent part of the morning delivering snacks to campaign volunteers.

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