Here's how to register to vote online in the N.W.T. election

It's the first time ever residents of the Northwest Territories will be able to vote for their MLA from the comfort of their own home.

Thanks to online voting, voting in this year's territorial election has never been easier even if some critics say it's also less secure.

Registration for online voting is now open and registered voters can cast their ballots anytime until Oct. 1. Here's how to make sure you can vote online.

STEP 1: Make sure you're registered

Registering to vote is how Elections NWT confirms you are who you say you are and you live where you live.

That means you'll need to provide proof of your name and address to a returning officer.

You can do that online, by uploading an image of your ID, or in person, by visiting your local returning officer (you can find their office hours on the Elections NWT website).

A driver's licence with a current address will work, as will any government ID and proof of address, like a Northwestel bill or rent receipt. Every application is reviewed by a human being.

You might be registered already you can check on the Elections NWT website by entering some key info.

STEP 2: (Optional) Make an Electorhood account

Electorhood is the website set up by Elections NWT as a one-stop shop for election information.

On the site you can access links to register, apply for your absentee ballot (see below), and vote online. You'll also find information on your local returning officer and candidates running in your district.

You can sign up now and see the dashboard in English and French (but no Indigenous languages), including a countdown clock to the beginning of the campaign.

To create an account you need an email address, your registered voting address, and your date of birth. It will ask you if you're a Canadian citizen and if you've been an ordinary resident of the N.W.T. since May 1st, 2019 but you don't need this to create an account.

The site's terms and conditions say they'll send you emails about territorial elections, and reserves the right to ban you from the site at any time. They'll keep your information in a database that helps the site do its thing but "you may request a copy of your own personal information contained within the database" at any time.

Registering for Electorhood is optional, even if you want to vote online but this next step is not.

STEP 3: Apply for an absentee ballot

Voting online requires an absentee ballot.

You can apply for your absentee ballot anytime until Sept. 21 at 2p.m. MT. All you need is some basic information to prove your identity. You'll then be given the option of voting by mail or online.

If you opt to vote online and there's a contest in your district, you'll receive an email with a unique PIN and a link to vote as soon as your application is approved.

STEP 4: Vote online!

Now that nominations have closed, you're able to vote online anytime using the PIN sent to your email.

Chief electoral officer Nicole Latour says the territory is employing a "double authentication" system. You'll need to provide some "shared secrets" information like your birthday and email address and your PIN in order to vote.

If you've signed up for Electorhood, you'll be able to log in and see the percentage of eligible voters in your district who have voted online.

"It's the first in Canada, probably the first in the world, to give voters something like this," said Latour.

If you're having a hard time deciding, you can leave it until the last minute literally to cast your ballot: Oct. 1 at 7:59 p.m. Latour says voters who wait until then will be given a countdown clock of a few minutes to make their choice.

If you log into Electorhood after polls close, you can find preliminary results straight from Elections NWT.

Online votes will be tallied instantaneously but numbers might not released right away, Latour says. That's because they're typically bunched into a single poll with paper ballots received in the mail, which will need to be counted before numbers can be made public.