It’s officially Election Day in B.C.’s 2020 provincial snap election.
First called in September by B.C. NDP Leader John Horgan, BC Votes 2020 is likely going to be one for the history books, already seeing a number of records broken when it comes to voter turnout.
Roughly 681,000 people cast their ballot during the seven days of advanced voting that ended Wednesday, compared to 614,389 in 2017.
Meanwhile, 478,900 returned vote-by-mail packages had been received by Elections BC by Oct. 22, representing 66 per cent of the packages requested.
It is expected that some ridings will see preliminary results as to which candidate will likely take a seat in the B.C. Legislature by the end of day Saturday. Meanwhile, close races will have to wait until mid-November for the winner to be declared, once mail-in ballots are counted by Elections BC officials after Nov. 6.
Haven’t voted? There’s still time. Here’s what you need to know:
Polling locations:
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Surrey-Cloverdale
Cloverdale Canadian Reformed Church – 17473 60 Ave, Surrey
Westwinds Comm Church – 6331 176 St, Surrey
Ecole Salish Sec School – 7278 184 St, Surrey
Coast Meridian Elem School – 8222 168A St, Surrey
Lord Tweedsmuir Sec School – 6151 180 St, Surrey
Surrey Centre Elem School – 16670 Old McLellan Rd, Surrey
Martha Currie Elem School – 5811 184 St, Surrey
A.J. McLellan Elem School – 16545 61 Ave, Surrey
Don Christian Elem School – 6256 184 St, Surrey
Adams Road Elem School – 18228 68 Ave, Surrey
Hillcrest Elem School – 18599 65 Ave, Surrey
Clayton Heights Sec School – 7003 188 St, Surrey
William Watson Elem School – 16450 80 Ave, Surrey
Walnut Road Elem School – 16152 82 Ave, Surrey
Frost Road Elem School – 8606 162 St, Surrey
Serpentine Heights Elem School – 16126 93A Ave, Surrey
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Surrey South*
Latimer Road Elem School – 19233 60 Ave, Surrey
Jericho Ridge Comm Church – 19533 64 Ave, Surrey
Katzie Elem School – 6887 194A St, Surrey
Hazelgrove Elem School – 7057 191 St, Surrey
* not a complete list of polling stations for the entire riding; list just covers the east part of Cloverdale and Clayton.
Candidates running in the riding:
MEET THE CANDIDATES: Five in the running for the riding of Surrey-Cloverdale
MEET THE CANDIDATES: Three in the running for Surrey South riding
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
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
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