While early voters are more likely to favour the incumbent B.C. NDP, the overall election race is getting closer, a poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests.
The poll, released Tuesday (Oct. 20), found that the BC Liberals and BC Greens had both gained momentum since last week. Support for the NDP dropped from 49 to 45 per cent, while the Liberals and Greens each gained two points, up to 35 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
According to the poll, 55 per cent of people have not yet voted, while 15 per cent voted during advanced voting and 30 per cent said they have voted by mail. Older British Columbians were more likely to have voted, as were those living in Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the North Coast.
While the race appeared to be tightening among all voters surveyed, people who had already voted were more likely to support the NDP. Pollsters found that 51 per cent of early voters supported John Horgan’s NDP, compared to 35 per cent of those who have not yet voted. Andrew Wilkinson’s Liberals had 33 per cent support among early voters and 34 per cent among those yet to cast their ballot. Sonia Furstenau’s Greens also gained a point from later voters, up to 15 per cent from 14. But aside from the NDP, the biggest change was in undecided voters. Ten per cent of those yet to vote said they were undecided, while all those who had voted were by necessity already decided.
Some details on these statistics, taken from the @angusreidorg poll:#BCelxn2020 #bcpoli #bcvotes pic.twitter.com/qmZ29VmFwD
— Kat Slepian (@katslepian) October 20, 2020
According to Elections BC, 383,477 people cast a ballot during advanced voting days, while another 235,800 mail-in ballots have been received. A total of at least 724,000 people have requested mail-in ballots.
Researchers conducted the online survey from among a sample of 1,201 British Columbians from Oct. 16 to 19.
READ MORE: 380,000 British Columbians head to polls in first 4 days of advance voting
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