Many voters in the Parksville-Qualicum riding are opting to vote by mail in the coming provincial election due to COVID-19 concerns.
According to Elections BC, as of Oct. 13, it has issued 13,476 vote-by-mail packages in Parksville-Qualicum. The riding has 48,396 registered voters.
This election season, Elections BC has issued 670,044 vote-by-mail packages, a dramatic increase from the 2017 election that had 6,517 people that voted by mail.
Voters who have received their vote-by-mail package are encouraged to return it to Elections BC as soon as possible. Elections BC recommends voters mail their completed package by Saturday, Oct. 17.
There are concerns that due to the high demand that vote-by-mail packages might reach voters past the Oct. 17 deadline to return them.
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“Voters in this situation should plan on returning their package in person to a designated drop-off location, or vote in person during advance voting or on Election Day,” Elections BC stated in press release. “Voters who have requested a vote-by-mail package must destroy it if they choose to vote in person, and should not return the vote-by-mail package to Elections BC.”
Designated drop-off locations include district electoral offices, voting places during voting hours, and some Service BC locations.
Elections BC must receive completed vote-by-mail packages by 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24.
— NEWS Staff
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