All voting stations now open in Nanaimo byelection

All that’s left in the byelection campaign is the voting.

Today, Jan. 30, is voting day in Nanaimo when residents of the provincial constituency will choose their next MLA.

For a map of riding boundaries, click here. Generally, the northern borders of the riding are Mostar, Rutherford and Brickyard roads and the southern boundaries of the riding are Nanaimo Lakes and Harewood roads and Fourth and Milton streets.

The candidates are Justin Greenwood, B.C. Conservatives; Tony Harris, B.C. Liberals; Sheila Malcolmson, NDP; Michele Ney, Green Party; Robin Richardson, Van Isle Province Party; and Bill Walker, B.C. Libertarians.

To read more about the candidates’ backgrounds and priorities, in their own words, click here.

Anyone 18 and older who is a Canadian citizen, lives in the Nanaimo riding and has lived in B.C. for at least six months is eligible to vote.

For information about acceptable identification, click here.

Polling stations are open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at Alliance Church, 1609 Meredith Rd.; Beban Park social centre, 2300 Bowen Rd.; Bowen Park activity centre, 500 Bowen Rd.; Departure Bay Activity Centre, 1415 Wingrove St.; Departure Bay Baptist Church, 3510 Departure Bay Rd.; Fairview Community School, 205 Howard Ave.; Hammond Bay Elementary School, 1025 Morningside Dr.; Nanaimo District Electoral Office, 65 Front St.; Nanaimo Christian School, 198 Holland Rd.; Nanaimo Yacht Club, 400 Newcastle Ave.; Protection Island Fire Hall, 26 Pirates Lane; Uplands Park Elementary School, 3821 Stronach Dr.; and Wellington Hall, 3922 Corunna Ave.

EDITORIAL: Vote, and be assured that your vote matters

In the May 2017 general election, then-NDP incumbent Leonard Krog was elected with 12,746 votes representing 46.5 per cent of the vote. Liberal candidate Paris Gaudet was runner up with 8,911 votes (32.5 per cent), Kathleen Harris of the B.C. Greens earned 5,454 votes (19.9 per cent) and Walker got 277 votes (1.0 per cent).

A year and a half later, Krog was elected mayor of the City of Nanaimo, necessitating a byelection, and Malcolmson, who was Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP, resigned that post to pursue provincial office.

.@ElectionsBC says #Nanaimo #byelection voting not being affected by a power #outage. @bchydro says cause is birds contacting wire. #NanaimoVotes #bcpoli

— Karl Yu (@KarlYuBulletin) January 30, 2019

While there was concern that a Wednesday morning power outage in the downtown area would affect polling, Patrick Maguire, district electoral officer, told the News Bulletin that it wasn’t affecting any voting stations.

FURTHER READING:

More than 9,000 people have already voted in the Nanaimo byelection

Nanaimo byelection candidates condemn legislature staff expenses at debate

Nanaimo byelection candidates get their first chance to debate

Nanaimo byelection to be held Jan. 30

Candidates confirmed for Nanaimo byelection

Opinion: Traditional byelection wisdom may not apply in Nanaimo

B.C. Green Party leader says Nanaimo candidate would bring stability and accountability

Michele Ney says her father ‘would be a Green’ today

Nanaimo candidate called out for once wearing a Trump hat

‘Nanaimo is next’ for urgent primary care centre

B.C. Liberal leader in Nanaimo to support byelection candidate