UPDATE: Polls have officially closed.
Stay tuned here at aldergrovestar.com for the results as they come available tonight
••••
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.
Abbotsford West General Polling Stations
Abbotsford Pentecostal Assembly
Bradner Comm Hall
Chief Dan George Middle School
Emmanuel Free Reformed Church
Eugene Reimer Middle School
Garden Park Tower
Harry Sayers Elem School
Immanuel Fellowship Baptist Church
Terry Fox Elemetary
WJ Mouat Secondary
Candidates running in the riding:
Mike de Jong, Liberal
Preet Rai, NDP
Kevin Eastwood, Green
Michael Henshall, Conservative
Sukhi Gill, BC Vision
Abbotsford South General Polling Stations
Abbotsford Middle School
Abbotsford Traditional Middle School
Aberdeen Elem School
Aldergrove Community Secondary School
Alexander Elem School
Bakerview Menn Brethren Church
Barrowtown Elem School
Betty Gilbert Middle School
Centennial Park Elementary
Central Heights Church
Coghlan Fundamental Elem School
King Traditional Elem School
Mill Lake Church
North Otter Elementary
North Poplar Fine Arts
Parkside Centennial
Pioneer Mobile Home Park
Royal Candian Legion 265
Shortreed Elementary
South Poplar Elementary School
Upper Sumas Elementary School
Candidates running in the riding:
Bruce Banman, Liberal
Inder Johal, NDP
Aird Flavelle, Green
Laura-Lynn-Thompson, Christian Heritage
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