Both election and health officials in British Columbia are confident that the provincial election can occur safely and are providing more voting options than in the past.
Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman says voting in person will be different from past elections, but the differences will be familiar to us. “In voting places voters can expect physical distancing, hand sanitizer stations, capacity limits, protective barriers for election officials and election officials wearing personal protective equipment.”
“In this election there will be more voting opportunities for voters across more days. Most voters will likely only spend minutes inside a voting place. Casting your vote will be like getting or picking up milk and eggs from the grocery store in terms of the safety protocols and time spent.”
Boegman says there will be a large up tick in mail in votes this time around as there have already been some 20,000 requests for mail in ballots. Compare that to about 6,500 request for mail in ballots in 2017. A survey was conducted over the summer to gauge how many people in BC may be interested in a vote by mail option. “Consistently put the range of 35-40% of British Columbians who expressed an interest in voting by mail, one of the remote voting options that we have in BC.
There are also opportunities to vote by phone. but that option is exclusively for those who have physical limitations or disabilities that prevent them from attending a polling station. “Telephone voting is a type of voting that was put in place prior to the 2017 general election under the special voting rules in our legislation. It was intended as a way to enable voters who had a permanent or semi-permanent disability that prevented them from voting independently to cast a ballot independently” says Boegman. It could also be an option for those who are in self-isolation as a result of COVID-19.
Mail in ballots do take longer to tally. Boegman notes that it takes about 13 days to count those mail in ballots. He says in previous election a winner was not officially declared until typically a minimum of 17 days after election night. “If there are more absentee ballots, significantly more, it will take longer, I don’t know how much longer it will be.”
“On election night, we will have a count of all of the ballots that were cast during advanced voting and during general voting day. Typically an an election, this equates to 90% of the ballots. If there are significant demand for vote by mail and other absentee ballots in this election then obviously those percentages will change. The initial count is always an initial count. It is only a count of the ballots from general voting and advanced voting. The final count is when the official results are declared.”
You can visit the Elections BC website for more information on how to register for a mail in ballot.
