KITCHENER -- Advance voting for Cambridge’s Ward 7 by-election began again on Saturday.

The seat has been empty since Councilor Frank Monteiro passed away in October 2019.

Almost a year later, residents are able to cast their ballots.

The by-election was originally scheduled for March 23, with advanced voting starting on March 7.

But it had to be postponed as a result of the pandemic.

Voters headed to city hall on Saturday to cast their ballots.

“It’s finally great to get out here and vote for our by-election,” said John Vessoyan. “Hopefully we can find a good candidate for the Ward 7 seat.”

“We waited a little too long for this happen,” said Daniella Pacella.

Voters were offered hand sanitizer, face shields and masks.

Danielle Manton, the city clerk, says they worked to make sure everyone could cast their ballot safely.

“We have a physical distancing officer, we have a safety officer who is cleaning every touch point. Every voter is taking a Sharpie to mark their ballot and leaving it, or recycling it if they wish. Every voter puts their ballot in a secrecy sleeve and that secrecy sleeve is disposed of.”

Voters told CTV News that they were happy with the setup.

“It’s very well organized,” said Vessoyan. “The city has done a great job getting things organized properly.”

“Everybody was ready to direct you,” said Pacella. “It went really smooth.”

The by-election is scheduled for Oct. 5, but two more advance polling dates have been set for Oct. 2 and Oct. 3.

“I’m glad that we’re only in one location,” said Manton. “And I’m glad that we’re doing it on so many dates because I think we’ll get enough voters over those days to space people out and make them feel safe.”