British Columbians who have already made up their minds in the provincial election will be able to cast their ballots in-person, starting today.
Advance voting runs from Oct. 15 to Oct. 21, with Election Day on Oct. 24.
Elections BC had received roughly 670,000 vote-by-mail package requests as of Oct. 14. There are 3.48 million registered voters in B.C.
READ MORE: Here’s how voting amid a pandemic will happen in B.C.
Here’s what you need to know before you vote:
Advance polling locations:
Advance voting places will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on the days they are open.
- Aggie Hall – 1110 1st Ave, Ladysmith
- Cowichan Exhibition – 7380 Trans-Canada Hwy, North Cowichan
- Cranberry Community Hall – 1555 Morden Road, South Wellington
- Crofton Community Centre – 8104 Musgrave Street, North Cowichan
- Gabriola Island Community Centre – 2200 South Road, Gabriola
- Royal Canadian Legion 191 – 9775 Chemainus Road, North Cowichan
- Salvation Army – 505 Eighth Street, Nanaimo
Candidates running in the riding:
Chris Istace, B.C. Greens
Duck (Don) Paterson, B.C. Liberals
Doug Routley, B.C. NDP
Voter registration:
While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.
Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683. Registration closed on Sept. 26.
To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification:
- A B.C. driver’s licence
- A B.C. Identification Card
- A B.C. Services Card, with photo
- A Certificate of Indian Status
- Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address
Health rules for voting during COVID-19:
All voting places and district electoral offices will have protective measures in place, including:
- Physical distancing
- Capacity limits
- Election officials wearing personal protective equipment (such as masks and face-visors)
- Protective barriers
- Hand sanitizing stations
- Frequent cleaning of voting stations and frequently touched surfaces
- Election workers trained on safe workplace guidelines and pandemic protocols
– with files from Ashley Wadhwani