According to Elections BC Communications Manager Andrew Watson, an unprecedented number of voters will be casting their votes by mail for the Oct. 24 provincial election.
“In 2017, in the last election, only about sixty five hundred voters voted by mail,” Watson said.
Elections BC expects 800,000 will opt to vote by mail in this provincial election.
On Vancouver Island, there are 670,000 registered voters, with more than 122,000 requesting a mail-in vote package.
And for the first time, crew on HMCS Winnipeg are able to vote via telephone assisted voting. And while Elections BC expected the number of mail-in ballots to explode, with 40 per cent of votes coming in the mail, it may mean a number of ridings are not decided on election night.
Watson said it takes up to two weeks to process all the mail-in ballots, including absentee ballots, and it’s possible multiple ridings may not be decided.
“We’ll see what the outcome is on election night in terms of our preliminary reporting, advanced, and general voting. And then we’ll have the final results from the final count process as well,” Watson said.
The deadline for vote by mail packages to be received at Elections BC is 8 p.m.PT on Saturday, Oct. 24.
READ MORE: Some voters might receive their mail-in ballots too late to return by mail, Elections BC warns
For more information about where to vote in advanced polls and on general election day, visit Elections BC.
There is also assisted telephone voting for at-risk voters and voters with disabilities.
Telephone voting is available for a limited set of voters who are unable to vote independently by other means. To vote by assisted telephone voting, your voter registration information must be up-to-date and you must meet one of the following criteria:
- you have vision loss
- you have a disability or underlying health condition that prevents you from voting independently
- you are self-isolating during the last week of the campaign period and are unable to vote by mail
District electoral officers may also make this option available to some residents of care facilities, patients of acute care hospitals or deployed members of the military.
Only voters who meet one of these criteria are allowed to vote by telephone and voters must confirm that they are eligible. If an ineligible voter attempts to vote by telephone, it could tie up phone lines needed by those who are eligible.
Telephone operators will assist voters who vote by phone. Measures have been put in place to ensure the secrecy of the ballot for voters voting by telephone.
If you have questions about your eligibility to vote by assisted telephone voting, contact Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683.
Mary Griffin
