What must you take to the polling station on election day?

The first step arrives by post. If your details are held in the National Register of Electors, a voter information card is sent to you. Treat that card as confirmation: it proves your name is already on the voters' list. Read it with care, because it also sets out the day, the hours and the address where you cast your vote. Keep it somewhere safe until you need it.

No card arrived? That does not mean you have lost your vote. Telephone your local elections office and ask them to check whether you appear on the voters' list. If you do not have that local number to hand, ring Elections Canada in Ottawa instead. The number is 1-800-463-6868. Sorting this out early is far easier than trying to fix it while standing at the polling station.

Election day does not suit everyone. You may be away, working, or simply prefer another day. Two other routes are open to you. You can vote early at an advance poll. Or you can vote by special ballot. Both are official and both count exactly the same as a vote cast on election day. Look at your voter information card, because the dates and the locations for these options are printed on it.

On election day, go to your polling station. The address is printed on your voter information card, so there is no need to guess. Take two things with you. First, the card itself. Second, proof of who you are and proof of where you live. Put both together before you leave home, because you will be asked for them when you arrive at the station.

Inside, you are given a ballot paper listing the candidates. Beside each name there is a circle. Put an "X" in the circle beside the one candidate you have chosen. Your vote stays secret here too. You are invited to step behind a screen and mark the paper out of everyone's sight. When you have finished, fold the ballot so the mark cannot be seen, then hand it to the poll officials.

The poll official takes your folded ballot and tears off the ballot number. The paper is then handed back to you, and you are the one who drops it into the ballot box. After the polls have closed, every single ballot is counted and the totals are made public. You can follow the results on television, or look them up on the Elections Canada website at www.elections.ca.