Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all voters will have the option to submit their ballots by mail for the Terrace city council byelection on June 5.
All eligible voters can request a mail-in ballot by filling out an application to vote by mail and returning it to the city, either by mail, email or in-person at city hall. For voters that would like to receive their package by mail, the deadline to return the application form is Monday, May 31. Those who would like to pick up a vote by mail package need to submit their application no later than June 3.
Normally, the option to vote by mail in Terrace municipal elections is limited to people who are unable to vote at advanced or general voting opportunities. The city was granted a ministerial order on April 22 to expand vote by mail eligibility due to the pandemic.
The ministerial order also eliminates special voting opportunities as a measure to reduce potential COVID-19 transmission. In previous municipal elections, the chief elections officer could choose to offer voting opportunities at alternate sites, like Mills Memorial Hospital or Coast Mountain College.
But with the expanded vote by mail eligibility, those voting opportunities have been deemed unnecessary.
In addition to those changes, the order allows for oral declarations instead of a signature when people are voting in an effort to reduce touch points.
Advanced voting will take place on May 26 and June 2, with the general voting day falling on June 5 at the Terrace Sportsplex.
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