The BC provincial election is fast approaching with topics like housing, affordability and health care at the forefront of party platforms. Students have an important voice in elections, and it’s good to know where, when and how you can vote in this election.
The three major parties
BC Conservative Party (Party leader John Rustad)
BC Green Party (Party leader Sonia Furstenau)
BC New Democratic Party (NDP) (Party leader and Premier David Eby)
The NDP has been the party in power since 2017, with Eby becoming premier in 2022.
How to win the election
BC provincial elections use the first-past-the-post system. This winner-takes-all system disregards the need for a majority and focuses on the candidate who has the highest number of votes. If there are three parties — pink, yellow and purple — and the purple party gets 40 per cent of the votes while the other parties get 20 and 30 per cent of the total votes, the purple party is elected even though it did not achieve a majority consensus.
Can I vote?
To vote in the BC provincial elections you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 or older on October 19 and a BC resident since at least April 18.
How to register
You can register to vote online, by phone, by mail or in person on voting day. Registering in advance can save you some time.
Voting by mail
Vote-by-mail package requests are available online or by phone until October 13. The package will be mailed to you, or you can pick it up at a district electoral office.
After October 13, you can still request a vote-by-mail package in person at any district electoral office until 4 p.m. on October 19. Your completed package must be received by Elections BC before 8 p.m. on October 19.
Advance voting
You can vote in advance October 10–13 and 15–16. When voting in advance, you’ll have to vote using a special ballot, meaning candidate names will not appear on the ballot. Instead, there will be a blank space for you to write in the name of the candidate you’re voting for. You can check the candidates in your riding online or ask for a list from election officials.
You can also vote at your district electoral office or the voting booth in the Nest. In a statement to The Ubyssey, AMS VP External Ayesha Irfan confirmed students can vote for their home riding from the Nest.
Advance voting at the Nest is available from October 15–16, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. The last day to vote is October 19, and you can vote in the Nest from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. that day.
To find your assigned polling station on the final day, visit the Elections BC website.
What to bring
The identification requirement to vote is the same whether you are registered or not, voting by mail, in advance or on Election Day. You will need either one piece of Canadian government-issued identification that has your name, photo and address, or two documents with your name, one of which must have your address.
For registered voters, one of these could be the voter information card. Other options include a bank card with your name on it, your UBCcard or even a library card.
If you don’t have an ID, you can still vote if someone who knows you and has their own ID signs a piece of paper proving that you are the person you say you are. This person must also be registered to vote at the same polling station. If you choose to go this route, just note you can only vouch for one person.
Changes to elections
Some new changes are also being rolled out this election cycle. Now, new voting processes and technology are being used to administer ballots — this includes networked laptops and electronic tabulators to check off voters and count all paper ballots efficiently and in a secure manner.
The new technology will help report results quicker and also means around 98 per cent of ballots will be counted on election night. Previously, absentee and mail-in ballots could not be counted until final count, which would take place about two weeks after election day. The delay was due to time needed to verify voters were eligible to vote and had only done so once. The new voting system allows these checks to be made “in almost real time,” according to Elections BC.
The changes will also provide new acessibility services. Voters can now listen to audio recordings of candidates’ names and cast their vote using a hand-held selector device, sip-and-puff straws or paddles.
This article is part of The Ubyssey's 2024 provincial elections coverage.
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