With pre-floods and mail-in votes waiting to be counted, Election Day falls in BC

As a result of COVID-19, BC saw an increase of 7,200 percent in the number of votes cast by mail compared to the last election, along with an increase in early voting.

“Voters have never voted before Election Day in the history of British Columbia elections,” Chief Electoral Officer Anton Bogman told reporters Friday.

Polling stations open at 8 a.m., asking voters to bring a mask if they wish, along with a valid ID and “where to vote” card showing name and address.

Voters who do not receive the card in the mail will be able to vote as long as they bring it Identity or other documents With their current address.

When the legislature was dissolved on September 21, the New Democrats retained power for three years with a minority that came forward through a trust and supply agreement with the Green Party.

If Jగrgen wins, he will be the only two-time prime minister in the history of his party.

There are a lot of polls NDP with a comfortable lead Andrew Wilkinson’s Liberals and Sonia Forstenayu’s Greens, but surprising dreams are familiar territory to British Columbians.

Elections before the 2013 election were very favorable for the New Democrats The first page executed the photo The then leader, Adrian Dix, said, “If this guy kicks the dog, he’s still going to win the election.”

But come election night, the NDP suffered Christy Clark and the Liberals, The party came away with a fourth consecutive majority victory.

COVID-19 is a different kind of campaign period

The 2020 campaign was exceptional, with candidates favoring public sign-waving sessions and virtual town halls on traditional door-knocking and campaign rallies to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The epidemic marked a major change in the way people voted, with a large number of British Columbians voting by mail to abstain from voting in person.

3.49 million people registered to vote in this election. By Friday morning, a third of them had already voted.

This includes 681,055 early votes, along with 478,900 vote-by-mail packages received by Elections BC. At 1.16 million votes in total, it accounted for more than half of the total electorate in 2017.

Switching to mail-in ballots means that most votes will not be counted in the results announced Saturday night and the British Colombians will have no clear idea of ​​who will form the next government for almost two weeks.

Election officials estimate that between 30 and 35 percent of ballots will have to wait for the final count, the results of which will not be known for at least 13 days.

In a normal year, 90 percent of the ballots are counted on election night.

However, in the recent history of BC politics, the uncertain outcome is not uncommon.

On the strange election night of May 9, 2017, the Liberals fell just one seat to the majority, with the NDP having 43 seats out of 41 seats. Razor-thin advantage Is still in question By the end of the night, the NDP had managed the ride of the Courtney-Comox by just nine votes over the Liberals, which increased the chances of a tie.

When all absentee ballots are counted 13 days later In Cortane-Comox, NDP candidate Ronna-Ray Leonard defeated BC Liberal candidate Jim Benninger by 189 votes.

The Liberals’ grip on power is short-lived. 52 days after the election, then-Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichan asked Horgan to form a new government following a no-confidence motion in the legislature.

CBC Live about the 2020 BC Election PT starts at 7pm on radio, TV and online.