B.C. Election Day Live: Most polling stations open again after storm-related closures

It’s election day. British Columbians are heading to the polls and by day’s end, we’ll know if NDP Leader David Eby will continue as premier or if a new provincial government will form.

The campaign has been a tighter race than many expected, with B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad offering a compelling alternative for many British Columbians and B.C. Green Leader Sonia Furstenau putting up a strong fight.

Key issues put forth during the campaign included housing affordability and axing B.C.’s carbon tax. You can read about the parties’ takes on 12 hot topics HERE.

We’ll have live coverage of the day’s events, results as they come in and reporters covering results from various ridings across Metro Vancouver. So, save this post and hit refresh throughout the day and evening.

After the polls close, you can find out how your riding voted and explore close races across B.C. using this map:

READ MORE: B.C. election results 2024 — A riding-by-riding map of the vote

• Vancouver • Surrey • Burnaby • Richmond and Delta • Langley • North Vancouver and West Vancouver • Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and New Westminster • Maple Ridge and Port Moody • Abbotsford and Chilliwack • Okanagan and around B.C. • Vancouver Island

Most of the polling stations that were temporarily shut down Saturday afternoon due to power outages have since re-opened.

Elections B.C. spokesman Andrew Watson said most of the weather-related disruptions have been resolved.

In Langley Township the polling station at Donna Gabriel Robins elementary school in the riding of Langley-Walnut Grove had to resort to manual, paper-based procedures, he said. “It is fully operational again and serving voters.”

Election officials are prepared to run polling stations without electricity, he said. The paper-based procedure isn’t expected to cause any significant delay in the counting of the ballots after polls close at 8 p.m.

“It really depends on the nature of the outage and how many voters are at that location and how long the outage lasts for,” he said.

In cases of power outages, ballots will go into a secured ballot box attached to the tabulator that’ll be counted once power is restored.

Two voting places temporarily shut down in Kamloops-North Thompson have also re-opened. That closure was due to a non-weather related power outage.

The only polling station that has shut down for the day is in Dease Lake in the riding of Bulkley Valley-Stikine. The closure was caused by the lack of election officials to staff the location.

While there are other polling stations in the riding, the electoral district is large and voting places are spread out.

Voters in Dease Lake are encouraged to call Elections B.C. at 1-800-661-8683 to discuss their voting options, such as assisted telephone voting, said Watson.

Frances Collins, district electoral officer for Burnaby East, says so far there have been no issues with voters accessing polling stations.

The district includes some pretty mountainous terrain around Simon Fraser University, several major waterways — Burnaby Lake, Still Creek and Stoney Creek — as well as major transit corridors like Barnet Highway, Lougheed Highway and Highway 1.

Lots of localized flooding has been reported.

“We’re doing OK. Winston Avenue (near Burnaby Lake) is flooded pretty badly but we’re getting around it alright,” she said. “Forest Grove (halfway up Burnaby Mountain) is flooded a bit but voting still going well there too.”

In B.C. provincial elections, voters can vote at any polling station, not necessarily their riding, so they can choose a location that is convenient for them, said Watson.

Voting stations are open until 8 p.m.

With files from Patrick Johnston

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad cast a ballot in Vanderhoof on Saturday.

Accompanied by wife Kim Royle, Rustad voted at the Cluculz Lake Community Hall near Vanderhoof in his riding of Nechako Lakes.

“This is the first time Kim and I have ever voted for the Conservative Party of BC!” said Rustad in a post on X.

B.C. Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau also voted Saturday morning in her Victoria-Beacon Hill riding.

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby and wife Cailey Lynch cast their ballot in advance voting at Kitsilano community centre on Oct. 10.

The atmospheric river bringing heavy rain and strong winds to the B.C. south coast wreaked havoc on some voting places on election day.

About eight polling stations experienced closures or delayed openings due to power outages, said Elections B.C.

Donna Gabriel Robins elementary school in the riding of Langley-Walnut Grove was temporarily closed Saturday morning due to a power outage.

Elections B.C. said officials were onsite to direct voters to “alternative voting opportunities.”

Voting stations in Hornby Island, Denman Island, Mayne Island, Kamloops, Dease Lake, and Bella Bella were also affected.

Some polling stations, including the Mayne Island community centre and Denman Island seniors hall, have re-opened.

Check here for updates on the status of voting places.

Everyone stay calm, it’s happening: The polls are opening for the final day of the provincial election.

Voting stations across B.C. are open at 8 a.m. today and close at 8 p.m.

For a list of where to vote in your riding, click HERE.

Following the end of advance voting on Wednesday, Elections B.C. said more than a million British Columbians had cast their ballots. The figure breaks a record that was set during the 2020 election at the height of the pandemic.

The elections body says 1,001,331 people have voted, representing more than 28 per cent of all registered electors and putting the province on track for a big overall turnout.

Read more here on the advance voting turnout.

Elections B.C. says it is working closely with B.C. Hydro to make sure voting goes smoothly on Saturday, even if there are power outages because of the rain and wind storm hitting the B.C. South Coast.

Spokeswoman Melanie Hull said B.C. Hydro is aware of all voting locations and will make them a priority if there are any outages.

“Voting places are equipped with manual backup supplies in the event of a prolonged outage,” said Hull. “For example, election officials will used paper-based backup procedures if laptops are unavailable.”

The heaviest rain and wind are expected to arrive overnight Friday and into Saturday afternoon.

Compared with previous provincial elections, voters won’t have to wait long after polls close on Oct. 19 to get at least a preliminary idea of which party will form the next government in Victoria.

Results will begin being reported minutes after polls close, Wesley MacInnis of Elections B.C. said, thanks to electronic tabulators being used for the first time in a B.C. provincial election.

And networked laptops will be used to look up voters and cross them off the voters list, replacing phone book-thick paper lists and, it’s hoped, reducing the time voters spend lined up.

Paper ballots will also be counted by electronic tabulators on election night. Elections B.C. keeps all the ballots, however, for audits and recounts.

As well, random tabulators are selected for quality assurance tests, making sure a hand count matches the electric count, and all recounts of closely contested races will be by hand.

Read more about how the votes will be counted HERE. 

Trying to figure out who to vote today?

Maybe your favoured candidate changed parties following the sudden demise of B.C. United. Maybe they’re now running as an independent — or not running at all. Or maybe your riding changed and you don’t know who your candidates are.

We can help.

CLICK HERE and enter an address in the search bar to get the name of the corresponding riding, plus a list of this year’s candidates and results from the 2020 election. If the riding has changed since the last election, you’ll see that, too.

You can also CLICK HERE to get a written list of all candidates running in every riding.

Wondering who to vote for in the 2024 B.C. election? We compiled THIS LIST of brief summaries of where the B.C. NDP, Conservative Party of B.C. and Green Party of B.C. stand on 12 major issues, and highlights of what they are promising British Columbians.

You can also read more HERE about where the leaders stand on wage growth, resource development and 8 other economic issues.

RACE FOR B.C.: Follow our coverage of the 2024 B.C. election campaign HERE. Not yet a subscriber? Please click HERE for a special subscription offer.