Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Elections B.C. asks for patience with elections results amid unprecedented mail-in ballots

elections-b-c-voting-booth

Elections B.C. is preparing British Columbians for the likelihood that they won’t know who won the election until weeks after polls close on Saturday.

“Never before have so many voters voted before election day in British Columbia electoral history,” chief electoral officerAnton Boegman said at a news conference Friday as he laid out how the election agency plans prepares for the massive undertaking of counting at least half a million mail-in ballots by hand. That process won’t start until Nov. 6, 13 days after elections day, which is required under the Elections Act to prevent voter fraud.

More than 1.1 million votes have already been cast, with 681,055 people voting in advance polls.

Elections B.C. has received 478,000 vote-by-mail packages, which is about 66 per cent of the 724,279 mail-in voting packages requested, Boegman said. That doesn’t include the packages currently in the mail and those which will be dropped off in person at electoral offices or at voting stations. Elections B.C. is also expecting about 20,000 absentee ballots.

The big question mark is the results of mail-in and absentee ballots, which could impact close races.

“Vote-by-mail is always going to be a wild card,” Boegman said.

People can vote at any polling station between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday or between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at district electoral offices. Voters can expect physical distancing, capacity limits inside voting stations, sanitization stations, Plexiglas barriers and election officers wearing masks. Boegman said he’s been impressed with voters’ patience and adherence to safety measures and he also praised Elections B.C. staff for their organization.

Votes cast on election night and in advance voting polls, called “live” ballots, will be counted on election night. Preliminary results will be available at results.elections.bc.ca. The first results come in about half an hour after polls close.

The day before final counting starts on Nov. 6, Elections B.C. will let the public know how many certified mail-in ballots have been received, which could give a more accurate picture of how long counting will take. The final count usually lasts three days but Boegman said it could take longer because of the unprecedented number of vote-by-mail and absentee ballots. He did not have an estimate for how much longer it could take.

The mail-in ballots and absentee ballots are counted by hand, because some voters who received their voting packages before candidates were finalized had to write in the name of their chosen candidate.

All absentee and mail-in ballots are sent to the voter’s district and screened to ensure the voter is registered and eligible to vote and that someone who voted by mail or absentee ballot didn’t also vote on general election day.

There are dedicated teams in every electoral district, which depends on the size of the electoral district and the number of mail-in ballots. The count for the mail-in and absentee ballots could begin at different times in different ridings and as a result, results will be staggered.

Mail-in ballots will not be considered valid if they do not contain a ballot or they contain mutliple ballots from the same household. In this case, the certification envelope is set aside and the vote is not counted.

Elections B.C. said physical distancing will be in place between counting teams and the party scrutineers, who won’t be hovering over each other as in previous elections.

Elections B.C. has a staff of just under 100 that swells up to as many as 25,000 during elections.

People who sent a ballot by mail will not be given any notice that their ballot has been received, but people who put their ballot in the mail by Oct. 17 should be assured their vote will make it to Elections B.C in time. Elections officials will be at Canada Post’s sorting facility in Richmond to ensure any mail-in ballots received Saturday will be counted.

Canada Post will be delivering ballots until the close of voting Saturday.

There could be a recount if there is less than a 100-vote difference between the top two candidates in a district. After the final count, a judicial recount can be requested for six days. After the final count, a judicial recount can be requested for six days if there is a tie between the top two candidates or a margin of less than 0.2 per cent between the top candidates.

Voters have until 4 p.m. on Saturday to request a mail-in package directly from a district electoral office. Mail-in ballots can be dropped off in person at a district electoral office, a voting place and some Service B.C. locations before 8 p.m. that evening.

Anyone looking for ballot drop-off locations can go to elections.bc.ca/voting/how-to-vote-by-mail or call Elections B.C. at ­1-800-661-8683.