Up to 800,000 British Columbians may opt to vote by mail

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Election results may not be known for weeks after election

B.C.'s Chief Electoral Officer says the question of who will form the next government may not be answered for weeks after voting day. Anton Boegman says the final count for mail-in ballots will not start for at least 13 days after voting day on October the 24th. That's because officials need to verify that mail-in ballots are legitimate and that voters did not vote once by mail and once in person. And Boegman says that assumes 200,000 mail-in ballots will be cast. But he says survey results suggest up to 800,000 British Columbians may opt to vote by mail.

“If there are a significant amount of absentee ballots, including vote-by-mail ballots, the preparation time before final count may take longer. We don't know what that may be because we do not know the volume of the absentee ballots and vote by mail ballots that will be cast during this election.”—Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman.

Boegman says more than 20,000 British Columbians have requested mail-in packages in less than 24 hours since the election was called.

Some at UBCM concerned over Provincial Election and what NDP loss could mean for funding

Some municipal politicians are raising concerns about having a provincial election right now. Delegates at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities discussed their worries at a panel on the opening day of their Annual General Meeting. The Executive Director of the BC Green Party, Jonina Campbell is worried about having a majority government.

"So, if people are in a position where people don't have access and the power is kept among the captain it's really difficult for people to have their, what they need to be represented or heard or listened to so this is why the minority is good at that"—BC Green Party Executive Director Jonina Campbell.

Others raised concerns about what will happen to the BC Restart Plan funding if New Democrats are not re-elected. Under it, municipalities will get $540 million dollars for local government operations and a further $100 million dollars for COVID infrastructure projects.

Tuesday COVID-19 update

B.C.'s most recent COVID-19 numbers, compiled since last Friday show there have been 366 new infections in BC over the past three days. There have been seven new cases of the virus confirmed in the Island Health region during that time. That brings our active case count to eleven. There were four deaths from the coronavirus in B.C. since Friday—none in Island Health. Later this morning, B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer and the province's chief electoral officer will hold a news conference to outline plans to ensure a safe voting process in the midst of the pandemic.

Temperature checks and mandatory masks come to Woodgrove Centre

Woodgrove Centre in Nanaimo has become the first shopping mall in B.C. to initiate temperature checks and mandatory masks for shoppers. The new policies were announced on Friday by the mall's new owner. Weihong Liu, a Chinese immigrant businesswoman, purchased the property through her family's company, Central Walk, on September 1st. She has lived on Vancouver Island for the past six years and has owned and managed shopping centres in China for 20 years.