Here's the scoop on voting by mail in the provincial election with details provided by Elections BC.
With the writ dropped on Sept. 21 for the Oct. 19 election, vote-by-mail packages are ready and available to voters in British Columbia
Voting by mail is one way to vote in the Oct. 19 election.
The vote-by-mail package can be requested by phone, online, or in person at a district electoral office until Oct. 13 (online, phone) or until Oct. 19 in person from a district electoral office.
The mail-in package comes with step-by-step instructions, according to Elections BC.
"If a voter is not registered, or their voter information is not current, they will be required to prove their identity and residential address by:
• uploading acceptable ID to Elections BC’s secure ID upload system, or
• including photocopies of acceptable ID with their returned vote-by-mail package.
All voters must also print their birthdate on the 'certification envelope' provided to confirm their identity, and sign a declaration confirming eligibility to vote in the election.
Then Elections BC must receive all completed vote-by-mail packages "no later than 8 p.m. (Pacific time) on Saturday, Oct. 19.
"Packages that arrive late cannot be counted."
Voters have four options:
• Return it the package by mail in the postage-paid return envelope,
• Drop it off at the district electoral office,
• Drop it off at an advance voting place or final voting place, or
• Drop it off at a participating Service BC locations before Oct. 18.
"Voters are considered to have voted when they put their package in the mail or return it to the district electoral office, voting place or a Service BC location and they must not vote again at any other voting opportunity," says Elections BC.
There is even a backup system.
"If we receive your vote-by-mail package and certain information is missing or incomplete, we may contact you to provide the missing information," according to Elections BC. "Only voters who have been contacted by Elections BC by email or phone will be able to use Elections BC’s secure corrections system."
Get ready to vote by registering with Elections BC. A 'where to vote' card will be sent to registered voters.
What else is happening election-wise? The candidate nomination deadline is approaching. All candidate nominations must be submitted and approved by Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. Pacific.
