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.
For residents of Keremeos and the surrounding area, you can vote in advance at the following locations:
Royal Canadian Legion 192 at 510 Veterans Ave, Keremeos
Sat - Tue Oct 17-20
Cawston Community Centre at 2119 Main St, Cawston
Thu - Fri Oct 15-16
Kaleden Community Hall at 320 Lakehill Rd, Kaleden
Sun - Mon Oct 18-19
For residents of Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos and the surrounding areas, you can vote in advance at:
Oliver Community Centre at 6359 Park Dr, Oliver
Thu - Wed Oct 15-21
Okanagan Falls Senior Centre at 1128 Willow St.
Thu - Sat Oct 15-17
Tue - Wed Oct 20-21
Sonora Community Centre at 8505 68th Ave, Osoyoos
Thu - Wed Oct 15-21
Candidates running in the riding:
Roly Rusell, BC NDP
Petra Veintimilla, BC Liberal
Darryl Seres, BC Conservative
Arlyn Greig, Wexit BC
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