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Election 2020

Mail-in ballot requests increase by 100-fold in B.C.; thousands requested in Kamloops

Oct 15, 2020 | 2:14 PM

VICTORIA — Elections BC says the number of voters who requested mail-in ballots has increased by more than 100-fold.

According to a news release, the agency has received requests for 710,000 mail-in ballots as of the end of Wednesday (Oct. 13). The number who requested mail-in ballots ahead of the 2017 provincial election was 6,517.

There are approximately 3.5 million registered voters in B.C., meaning 20 per cent have requested mail-in ballots.

Locally, 5,563 voters in Kamloops-North Thompson have requested to vote by mail, or 12.4 per cent.

In Kamloops-South Thompson, 7,882 mail-in packages have been requested, or 17 per cent of registered voters.

In Fraser-Nicola, the total is 2,434 requests, representing 9.2 per cent of the voting population.

Elections BC advises those who have received vote-by-mail packages to send them off before the end of this week. After Saturday (Oct. 17), Elections BC says voters should drop ballots off at district electoral offices. A list of office locations is available at the Elections BC website.

In order to have your mail-in vote counted, Elections BC must receive it no later than 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, Oct. 24.

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