Tuesday is general voting day in British Columbia for the provincial election. Here’s what you need to know to exercise your right to vote.
Who can vote: Anyone 18 or older who is a Canadian citizen and has been a resident of B.C. for the past six months.
Did you know? 2017 marks the 100th year since women won the right to vote in B.C. It would be another 30 years before First Nations, Chinese, Japanese and South Asian Canadians were also extended that right in the province.
Where and when to vote: You can vote at the polling station for your neighbourhood and any electoral office. You can find these at elections.bc.ca. and on the voter card sent to registered voters. The polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday (until 4 p.m. at electoral offices).
Did you know? You are entitled to four consecutive hours to vote on election day, but that does not necessarily mean you get time off work. If your work schedule conflicts with voting hours, your employer could give you time at the beginning or end of your shift to vote. Elections B.C. also gives this example: if your work shift begins at noon, you would not need any time off, since voting began at 8 a.m. If your shift ends at 4 p.m., you also would not need any time off, since polling stations are open until 8 p.m.
There are 87 ridings in this election, up from 85 in 2013.
What you need: Proof of your identity and where you live. Options include government-issued identification with name, photo and address such as a driver’s licence, or two pieces of identification with at least one showing a current address, or someone to vouch for you.
Did you know? If you are homeless and do not have identification, you can still vote with someone to vouch for you. Our Place Society on Pandora Avenue will have a polling station with staff vouching for voters who have other forms of ID, such as prescription bottles, bus passes, government cheque stubs and more.
Who votes: According to Elections B.C., there were 3,156,991 people registered to vote as of April 11. By Friday, 614,389 had already voted, or 19.5 per cent. That’s a 70 per cent increase from advance voting in the past election, in 2013. There were two extra days of advance voting this time around.
In 2013, 11.5 per cent of registered voters cast ballots in advance polls.
Total voter turnout in the 2013 provincial election was 57.1 per cent of those registered.
Did you know? In 2013, the highest turnout was among voters between the ages of 65 and 74. The lowest was among voters ages 25 to 34.
In 2017, a Vancouver Island riding had the highest turnout in the province for advance polls. In Saanich North and the Islands, 12,389 people voted in advance polls. That’s 27 per cent of the riding’s registered voters.
When to expect the results: Voting results will start to come in about half an hour after the polls close at 8 p.m. Results can be found on the Elections B.C. website, elections.bc.ca, and will be reported at timescolonist.com as they come in.
The results will come in by polling station (there are 13,000) and advance votes will also be counted when the polls close.
Did you know? The final count, including absentee votes, doesn’t take place until May 22 to 24.
The seat count at the time the legislative assembly was dissolved on April 11 was 47 Liberal, 35 NDP and 3 Independent.
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