Glossary

DSSABs are responsible for delivering social services in Northern Ontario. DSSABs provide social services in both organized municipalities and Territories Without Municipal Organization (TWOMOs) in their districts. DSSAB members are elected by eligible electors in TWOMOs within the board’s service area or appointed by municipal councils.

An elector is a person who is eligible to vote in an Ontario municipal, district social services administration board, school board and/or provincial election.

Municipalities in Ontario include cities, towns, villages and townships. They are governed by municipal councils, who are elected by eligible electors of that municipality.

Municipal elections are not administered by Elections Ontario. They continue to be the responsibility of municipal clerks, district social services administration boards and some school boards.

For municipal and district social services administration board elections, a non-resident elector may own or rent property in a municipality or Territory Without Municipal Organization (TWOMO), in which they do not reside.

The Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario, more commonly known as the "voters list", includes the names and addresses of people who are eligible to vote in municipal, district social services administration board, school board and provincial elections in Ontario. 

For municipal and district social services administration board elections, a resident elector may own or rent their residence, live in a shared accommodation where they do not pay rent, or live in the municipality or Territory Without Municipal Organization (TWOMO) but not at a fixed address. They can be a resident in only one municipality or TWOMO area unless they are a student.

Public school boards are responsible for operating publicly funded schools in particular geographic regions of Ontario. They are governed by school board trustees, who are elected by eligible school board supporters.

Municipal and district social services administration board electors may qualify to support one of four public school boards in Ontario. School board support is managed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

For municipal and district social services administration board elections, a spouse is a person who has the status of spouse as defined in any applicable legislation.

For municipal and district social services administration board (DSSAB) elections, students are entitled to vote in multiple municipalities or DSSABs if their permanent home and temporary student home are in different municipalities or Territory Without Municipal Organization (TWOMO) areas. Students can update or add their “home address” to the voters list as their permanent family home and list their temporary student home as an additional property they, or their spouse, own or rent.

For municipal and district social services administration board elections’ purposes, a tenant must be entitled to use the land for six weeks or more during the calendar year of a municipal election, or on voting day.

The voters list is a common way of referring to the Permanent Register of Electors for Ontario. It includes the names and addresses of people who are eligible to vote in municipal, district social services administration board, school board and provincial elections in Ontario.