Two Chows on Toronto ballot spark confusion as advance voting opens

Olivia Chow and Braeden Chow appear next to each other on Toronto's mayoral ballot — positions 8 and 9 — and voters are already marking the wrong name.

Advance voting opened Tuesday, October 6, and runs through October 11. The municipal election is October 26. The ballot lists all 52 mayoral candidates alphabetically, meaning the two Chows sit side by side.

Olivia Chow's campaign is warning supporters to check carefully. Chow posted on social media Tuesday: "Six upside down, it's a nine now. There are two Chows on the ballot. I'm number 9. Tell your friends, tell your cousin. Tell your aunties and uncles." She also posted a photo of the CN Tower with a nine beside its tip.

At least two voters have already caught themselves voting for the wrong candidate. A visually impaired voter on Reddit reported accidentally marking Braeden Chow first, then requesting a new ballot after realizing the error. Another Reddit user posted a photo of a ballot with Braeden marked off, saying they saw the confusion immediately when they received their mail-in ballot weeks ago.

Braeden Chow registered to run for mayor on May 21. Little is publicly known about his campaign or platform. His Instagram account is deactivated, and his X and Threads accounts are not regularly updated.

Chris Alexander dropped out of the race Tuesday morning, just as advance voting began — a move that reshuffled the field at the last moment but did not change the ballot layout.