The Victoria byelection will be held Dec. 12, 2020, the City of Victoria has confirmed.
The April 4 byelection had been cancelled on March 18 by Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The city said Victoria’s cancellation was also requested by the Chief Medical Health Officer for Island Health and the City of Victoria to help ensure residents are not required to gather in polling stations and to free up the city’s resources to focus on dealing with the impact of COVID-19
The vote for one councillor in Victoria had been scheduled for April after the position became vacant when Laurel Collins resigned from Victoria City Council in November 2019. Collins was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Victoria in October 2019.
In a report submitted to council, city staff outlined how a byelection could take place on Dec. 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the appropriate safety precautions, staffing, legislative changes and budget, it is possible to address public health concerns related to voting,” staff wrote.
“Instrumental to that will be adapting typical voting procedures at voting locations and expanding mail ballot voting to ensure that voters who are not comfortable attending in person have another option. Safety and operational plans will provide safeguards for in-person voting for electors and election workers”
According to city staff, some of the new measures that would have to take place during the byelection include more voting polls, an expanded mail-in ballot system and new protocols for in-person voting.
“A provincial election has been scheduled for October 24, 2020. The regulations for provincial
elections are significantly different from those that govern local government elections,” staff wrote.
“A provincial election can occur within a 32-day period, whereas a local government election process takes approximately 70 days to adhere to the provincially legislated requirements under the Local
Government Act. The city cannot deviate from those prescribed timelines, therefore the timing for
a by-election is significantly longer.”
The report also states that the byelection would require a budget of up to $350,000 coming from the city’s financial stability reserve. This money is on top of the $170,000 budget that was already set aside for the original byelection.
“A byelection in a larger municipality such as the City of Victoria during Covid-19 is possible on
December 12, 2020, but will require additional resources and adapted voting systems and practices
that have budgetary and legislative implications in order to safeguard public safety and reduce risk
of transmission,” staff wrote.
“The was concern that there may have been some barriers to a by-election, including availability of planned and additional staff and voting locations, ability to adapt voting systems and practices that will be effective on general voting day, budget, and impact on other City projects. In taking the time to review these issues, staff are able to conclude that a by-election on December 12, 2020 can be appropriately undertaken. Staff will continue working with other jurisdictions in order to develop voting systems and practices and share equipment whenever possible in order to conduct a by-election during COVID-19.”
Council approved the report at a committee of the whole meeting on Thursday, Oct. 1.
According to the city, any decision to reschedule the byelection was made in conjunction with public health officials and Elections BC.
Ahead of the provincial election on Oct. 24, Elections BC released details about how voting will be done safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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