Voters in B.C. will be getting an early start on election day.
Open hours have been staggered across the country. In B.C., that means polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., in order to minimize the media blackouts that characterized past elections and have become nearly unenforceable in an age of instant communications.
If you haven’t received your voter registration card, there is still time to register to vote, right up to election day, Oct. 19.
Most eligible voters in the South Okanagan West Kootenay riding will have already received their voter information card in the mail, telling them which polling station they are assigned to.
But electors who are not registered can still vote in the federal election by registering at their polling place on election day. To find their polling place, all you need to do is enter your postal code on Election Canada’s website, elections.ca, or call 1-800-463-6868.
Unregistered electors who can do so are invited to enter their information online, print a registration certificate and bring it with them for faster service at the polls, though this is not a mandatory step. Being able to identify yourself at the polling station, however, is.
To register and vote, electors must prove their identity and address, either with their driver’s licence or, alternatively, two pieces of ID from an approved list that includes myriad options, from social insurance cards to utility bills. The list of accepted pieces of identification is available online at elections.ca.
Some identification pieces used at provincial and municipal elections may not meet federal election requirements.
“Voters have a wide range of options to prove their identity and address at the polls,” said Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand. “They may use their driver’s licence or a combination of pieces of ID. I encourage voters to check our website for the full list of accepted pieces of ID to ensure they have what they need to vote.”
