Just shy of 51,000 voters in the North Shore’s four ridings have locked in their votes early ahead of the Oct. 19 provincial election.
Stats released by Elections BC on Thursday indicate 50,951 advance ballots counted on the North Shore and Sea to Sky areas where there are 175,627 registered voters – about 29 per cent voter turnout.
Advance polls were open from Oct. 10 to 16, with the exception of Thanksgiving. Across the province, the advance voter turnout rate was 28.2 per cent.
Locally, voters in North Vancouver-Seymour were the most eager to exercise their right to vote, with 15,175 ballots cast for a 33.2 per cent voter turnout before Election Day.
West Vancouver-Capilano also came in higher than the provincial average, with 12,955 advance votes from 43,499 registered voters, or 29.7 per cent.
North Vancouver-Lonsdale ranked third on the North Shore with 27.4 per cent (12,966 out of 43,449), and West Vancouver-Sea to Sky had the lowest local advance voter turnout with 25.2 per cent (10,904 out of 43,151).
The data does come with a caveat that the numbers are tallied based on where the votes were cast. Because Elections BC allows voters to cast their ballots at any poll regardless of whether it is in their home riding, the numbers would include people who voted on the North Shore but live elsewhere and, similarly, North Shore residents who voted elsewhere would have their stats show in the ridings where they voted.
In 2020, about 22 per cent of North Shore voters took advantage of advance polling, although that election was held at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and more voters were seeking mail-in ballots – more than 600,000 in B.C. compared to just over 100,000 this time, according to Elections BC.
