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Over 22 per cent of North Shore voters cast ballots in advance polls

Numbers of local voters who mailed in ballots won't be known until after the election.
Jane Seyd

Over 22 per cent of eligible voters on the North Shore have already voted in the provincial election. And that number is likely to be significantly higher once the mail-in ballots are counted.

Elections B.C. released numbers Thursday showing 38,408 people in the four North Shore ridings voted in the seven days of advance polls.

The highest percentage of advance votes was in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky where 24 per cent of voters cast ballots in the advance vote. Advance voting turnout in the other three ridings ranged from 20 to 23 per cent.

Across the province, almost 20 per cent of B.C.’s almost 3.5-million registered voters cast advance ballots.

The advance vote also doesn’t include mail-in ballots.

On the North Shore, more than 40,000 vote-by-mail packages were issued to voters in North and West Vancouver’s four ridings – just under 24 per cent of registered voters.

Some people didn’t receive their voting packages in time to mail their ballots back.

Voters who haven’t returned their mail-in package should now plan to drop it off in person to a designated drop-off location, or can change their minds and choose to vote in person on Election Day, according to Elections B.C.

Designated drop-off locations include district electoral offices, voting places during voting hours, and some Service BC locations.

Elections BC must receive completed vote-by-mail packages by 8 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, Oct. 24.

photo mail in voting package
Voters who have received mail-in ballots can still drop them off in person to designated drop-off locations until Saturday at 8 pm. photo Times Colonist

The large number of anticipated mail-in ballots means it’s possible the outcome of the election won’t actually be known on election night – depending on how many of those who requested mail-in ballots actually vote that way.

While votes cast on Election Day and in advance polls from people who voted in their district are counted on election night, absentee ballots – including mail-in ballots - don’t get counted until at least 13 days after the election.

All absentee and mail-in ballots must be manually verified before they are counted – a process that could take more than two weeks.

Elections BC hopes to release numbers showing how many people in each riding voted by mail a few days after the election, according to spokesman Andrew Watson.