B.C. VOTES 2020: Advance voting begins today in Chilliwack

British Columbians who have already made up their minds in the provincial election will be able to cast their ballots in-person, starting today.

Advance voting runs from Oct. 15 to Oct. 21, with Election Day on Oct. 24.

Elections BC had received roughly 670,000 vote-by-mail package requests as of Oct. 14. There are 3.48 million registered voters in B.C.

READ MORE: Here’s how voting amid a pandemic will happen in B.C.

Here’s what you need to know before you vote:

Advance polling locations:

Advance voting places will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on the days they are open.

Chilliwack:

Evergreen Hall – Cheam Room at 9291 Corbould Street

Chilliwack District Electoral Office (DEO) at 2-45585 Luckakuck Way

Chilliwack-Kent:

Chilliwack-Kent District Electoral Office at 160-45610 Luckakuck Way

Tzeachten Community Hall at 45855 Promontory Rd., Chilliwack

Agassiz Agricultural Association Hall at 6800 Pioneer Ave., District of Kent

Rosedale United Church Hall at 51351 Yale Rd., Chilliwack

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Candidates running in the Chilliwack riding:

John Martin – BC Liberal

Dan Coulter – BC NDP

Diane Janzen – BC Conservative

Tim Cooper – BC Green

Andrew Coombes – BC Libertarian

Josue Anderson – Independent

Candidates running in the Chilliwack-Kent riding:

Laurie Throness – BC Liberal

Kelli Paddon – BC NDP

Jeff Hammersmark – BC Green

Eli Gagne – BC Libertarian

Jason Lum – Independent

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Voter registration:

While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.

Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683. Registration closed on Sept. 26.

To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification:

A B.C. driver’s licence
A B.C. Identification Card
A B.C. Services Card, with photo
A Certificate of Indian Status
Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address

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Health rules for voting during COVID-19:

All voting places and district electoral offices will have protective measures in place, including:

Physical distancing
Capacity limits
Election officials wearing personal protective equipment (such as masks and face-visors)
Protective barriers
Hand sanitizing stations
Frequent cleaning of voting stations and frequently touched surfaces
Election workers trained on safe workplace guidelines and pandemic protocols

– with files from Ashley Wadhwani

@ProgressSports eric.welsh@theprogress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Chilliwack Progress