Advance polls are now open throughout the province and Elections BC wants voters to know they do not need a special reason to cast their ballots early.
Beginning Thursday, October 10th, through until Wednesday, October 16th, anyone who wants to vote early may do so by going to any ‘Advance Voting Place’ during the advance voting period.
Advance voting will be available at select locations between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m in all electoral districts.
The only exception is that all Advance Voting Places will be closed on Thanksgiving Monday, October 14th.
“Voters can vote at any advance voting place in the province, and all advance voting places are wheelchair accessible,” stated Elections BC via their website.
Additionally, voters can cast their ballots early by visiting their riding’s electoral district office, which are open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily, until Friday October 18th.
Similarly to the Advance Voting Places, these offices will be closed on Thanksgiving and on final voting day, ballots can only be cast until 4 p.m. at these locations.
For voters who are unable to cast their ballots at the advance polls, Saturday, October 19th is the final day British Columbians can vote.
There will be several locations in all Greater Victoria ridings for voters to cast their ballot. For example, the Esquimalt-Colwood electoral district has 10 ‘Final Voting Places’, in addition to their riding’s electoral office.
Find all voting locations online here.
Polls will officially close at 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 19th so the ballot count can commence.
Those who are out of town can vote by mail, but must request a vote-by-mail package by Sunday, October 13th, either over the phone or online.
For these ballots to be valid, they must be received before 8 p.m. on final voting day.
In the 2020 provincial general election, only 54.5% of eligible voters cast their ballots, according to Elections BC.
While seemingly low, this was actually the second highest voter turnout with 1,900,353 voters casting a ballot.
