B.C. voters head to polls Saturday: What you need to know before casting your ballot

“Voters can show up to any location in the province,” Hildebrandt said. “You can vote anywhere that you’d like.”

Hildebrandt said assigned voting locations help simplify the process with 93 electoral districts across the province, but Elections BC will not turn away someone who arrives at another voting location.

Voters also do not need to have received a Where to Vote card in order to cast a ballot. Those who have not registered can register at the voting place.

Identification will be required.

Hildebrandt said voters can bring one piece of photo identification containing their name and address, or use two pieces of identification showing their name and current home address.

A recent bill can be used as one of those documents and can be displayed on a cellphone.

Voting locations will be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Anyone waiting in line when the polls close will still be permitted to cast their ballot.

“If you are in line at 8:00, then you are going to be probably the last person in line at 8:00 [and] will still get in to vote,” Hildebrandt said.

Once voting ends, the focus will shift to counting the ballots.

According to Hildebrandt, ballots cast on final voting day will be counted by hand.

Elections BC will also begin counting ballots cast during advance voting once the polls close. Hildebrandt said approximately 890,000 people across the province cast ballots in advance.

Those results are expected to begin appearing before all ballots cast on election day have been hand counted.

But not every ballot will be included in Saturday night’s count.

Hildebrandt said mail-in ballots will be counted later, along with ballots cast outside a voter’s electoral district.

Those ballots require additional verification to ensure the voter has cast only one ballot in the election and that it is assigned to the electoral district in which the voter lives.

The ballots will then be dealt with as part of the final count.

Hildebrandt said the exact number of mail-in ballots was not yet known because Elections BC continued to receive them ahead of the deadline.

Elections BC is encouraging eligible voters to take part in final voting day.

“It’s your opportunity to vote and participate in democracy,” Hildebrandt said. “We’re encouraging everyone to get out and vote.”

by Greg Fry

B.C. voters head to polls Saturday: What you need to know before casting your ballot

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