Advance voting will begin October 15 at Royal Canadian Legion in Powell River. Elections BC will be using the advance polling station at 6811 Alexander Street from 8 am to 8 pm on October 15, 16, 17 and 20.
Voting is also possible at the district electoral office at 41-7100 Alberni Street, Monday to Sunday until October 24, until 4 pm.
At the beginning of the campaign, chief electoral officer Anton Boegman said a pre-election survey of voters suggested between 35 and 40 per cent would choose mail-in ballots.
As of Friday, October 9, Elections BC has received 646,000 requests for vote-by-mail packages, up from 11,000 for the 2017 election.
Elections BC officials are not able to give riding-specific information about the number of mail-in ballot requests. In 2017, just 114 people voted by mail in the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding. If the riding follows the emerging trend for 2020, that number could be in the 8,000 to 12,000 range, which is more than the margin of victory in the 2017 vote.
Completed mail-in ballot packages must be received by Elections BC before 8 pm on October 24.
On its website, Elections BC indicates that the final vote count, which is when mail-ins and absentee ballots will be tallied and added to the votes cast in person, will begin November 6. The final count may take more time depending on the number of mail-in ballots, according to Elections BC.
For more information on voting and COVID-19 precautions at polling stations, go toelections.bc.caor call 1.800.661.8683.
