Well, the polls have closed and preliminary B.C. election results should be rolling through over the next few hours.
Watch www.campbellrivermirror.com and our social media channels for updates as the ballots are counted.
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 today. 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. Elections BC hopes to deliver the results by Nov. 16 but that’s not an ironclad date.
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.
Elections BC issued 8,053 vote-by-mail ballots to North Island riding. The riding has 45,121 registered voters.
Elections BC explains the process saying, “Initial count is the preliminary count of ballots on election night. It includes ballots from advance and general voting. It does not include mail-in ballots; these are counted at final count. Initial count happens as soon as possible after the close of voting at 8 p.m. (Pacific time) on Election Day.
“Final count is the count of absentee ballots that were not considered at initial count, including mail-in ballots. At the end of final count, the district electoral officer can declare a candidate elected.
“Final count normally starts 13 days after Election Day and lasts for three days. Due to the large volume of mail-in ballots in the 2020 Provincial General Election, this timeline may be extended.
“The period between Election Day and final count is needed to allow enough time for absentee ballots to be sent from the electoral district where they are cast to the voter’s district of residence, and to screen them before they are accepted for counting. Ballots are screened to ensure that only eligible voters voted and that they only voted once.”
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