Dale Boyd

Local Journalism Initiative

If a snowy October Election Day falling on a Saturday wasn’t unique enough, this provincial election will continue to be a strange one with about 70 per cent of votes getting counted after polls close Saturday.

On Election Day, Oct. 24, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. voters can cast their ballots at any general voting office and until 4 p.m. at district electoral offices. Voters can also turn in their mail-in ballots in person at any election office as well (a full list of electoral offices can be found here.)

Following the closure of voting Saturday, ballots for advanced voting and general voting on Election Day will be counted and preliminary results will be reported — roughly 65 to 70 per cent of the vote according to Anton Boegman, Chief Electoral Officer with Elections BC.

“The counting process for this election is the same process that has been used since the Election Act was materially updated in1996 what will be different however is the number and percentage of ballots counted on Election Night,” Boegman told media at a virtual press conference Friday.

Usually, in non-pandemic election, 90 per cent of all ballots are counted on election night, however, Elections BC is expecting roughly 65 to 70 per cent of ballots counted and reported. The remaining 30 to 35 per cent will be counted at the final vote count.

Mail-in votes require additional scrutiny, Boegman said. The final count cannot begin until at least 13 days after voting day and lasts for three days.

“Because of the significant volume of vote by mail, preparations for final count, and the count itself, may take longer than usual. Our commitment is to complete this process as quickly as possible while maintaining the necessary integrity checks,” Boegman said. “When we accurately know the volume of vote by mail and other absentee ballots to be counted we will be able to determine when final count can begin and we will keep the public informed on this process.”

Elections BC had received nearly 480,000 mail-in ballots as of Friday morning, and increase of over 7,200 per cent over the 2017 election, and advanced voting turnout has been high as well.

“Never before have so many voters before Election Day in British Columbia electoral history,” Boegman said.

Polling stations have been equipped with personal protective equipment, plastic barriers and other now-usual preventative pandemic measures.

“Voting will be similar to getting a cup of take out coffee or buying a few groceries at a grocery store in terms of the time spent and in terms of the safety protocols you can find,” Boegman said.

While it is unclear how voters in the Boundary Similkameen riding have gone to the polls, a close race between projected pre-election poll leaders Petra Veintimilla (BC Liberal) and Roly Russell (BC NDP) could have the people of the riding waiting longer than usual to find out who will represent them in Victoria.  According to 338Canada, which provides a statistical model of electoral projections based on opinion polls, electoral history of Canadian provinces and demographic data, the Boundary Similkameen riding is listed as a “toss up” with data from an Angus Reid Institute poll earlier in October.

Your assigned voting place

Voting at your assigned voting place is usually the easiest way to vote on General Voting Day, but you can vote at any other voting place if that’s more convenient for you. If you vote at your assigned voting place, your vote will be counted on election night. If you vote at another voting place, your vote will be counted at final count.

You can find your assigned voting place on your Where to Vote card, by entering your address into our Where to Vote app, or by calling 1-800-661-8683.

What to bring to a voting place

If you are voting in person, remember to bring acceptable ID. Elections BC also recommends you bring:

  • Your Where to Vote card
  • Your own pen or pencil (if you wish)
  • A mask (if you wish)

Find out more about voting safely.

How to drop off a vote-by-mail package

If you requested a vote-by-mail package, you have until 8 p.m. Pacific time on General Voting Day to return it to Elections BC. At this stage you should return your package to an in-person drop-off location to make sure we receive it by the deadline.

You can drop-off your vote by mail package at a:

  • District electoral office from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Pacific time)
  • Voting place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Pacific time)
  • Participating Service BC location on October 23 by drop box (where available until 8 p.m.) or in person (hours vary), and
    on October 24 using this table to locate the nearest drop-off location

Note: Vote-by-mail packages cannot be dropped off at Service BC locations in Surrey, Vancouver or Burnaby. Voters in these areas wishing to return their package in person should return it at a district electoral office or voting place.

Voting results

After voting closes at 8 p.m. Pacific time, preliminary results will be available at results.elections.bc.ca.

See Election BC’s key election dates for more information on the election timeline.