Steady turnout at Kamloops advance polling stations ahead of Oct. 24 provincial election

“It’s a pretty important vote here,” another said. “The snap election came up and whatever, but yeah, lots of stuff going on in the world today and so I think it’s very important to get out and vote.”

“If you don’t vote, you can’t make a change for anything,” said a third. “You got to have your word out there, but I always go early and beat the crowds.”

On Saturday (Oct. 17), polls will be open for both the provincial as well as the municipal election, so expect lots of people going to vote in several different places, and for two different levels of government.

“It’s a bit ridiculous but it is what it is,” one resident said outside the polling station at the Kamloops Full Gospel Tabernacle on Tranquille Road. “We just want everything for the best for there, for B.C. and for Kamloops, and so everybody has to vote.”

“I would have voted anyway, but the earlier you come, the [fewer] people you have so you don’t have to wait so long,” another said.

“It was smooth, simple and very good,” said a third. “I’m an out-of-town ballot, an absentee ballot from Vernon so it was easy to do. I’m heading back to work and it was nice to be able to do it out of my hometown.”

Elections BC mailed voter cards to all registered voters and it also said all provincial polling locations will be clearly marked.

“Our information officers will direct folks to the municipal voting sites,” Geoff Collier, the District Electoral Officer in Kamloops Centre, said. “Although it is not really our place to provide information about municipal voting times and places, we still do our best.”

“We really have had no significant confusion on that at all.”

It’ll be a similar scenario at the City of Kamloops on Saturday as there will be signs that all 16 municipal polling stations.

“We are anticipating some questions or a little bit of confusion but with our polling locations, we are just strictly for the municipal election,” Kamloops Chief Election Officer Alisha Beday added.

On Friday, most people were in and out of provincial polling stations within a few minutes. Those who weren’t quite ready to vote in advance can still do so at most polling stations between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. until Wednesday. A full list of places across B.C. – and dates – to vote in advance is here.

“The one tip I would give people is to come before the last day if you want to vote in advance, and don’t wait until the last minute as you tend to have a real rush and real crush,” Collier said. “Also, don’t come first thing in the morning. Come in the middle of the day, come at dinner time when everybody is at home eating. That works better.”

You can find full list of final polling stations across all B.C. ridings here.

Voters are required to be Canadian citizens at least 18 years old on election day, and have been a resident of B.C. since April 23, 2026. More information about identification requirements can be found here.

A list of candidates in Kamloops Centre, Kamloops-North Thompson, Fraser-Nicola, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Salmon Arm-Shuswap can be found here.

All of CFJC’s coverage of the upcoming provincial election can be found here.

by Victor Kaisar

Steady turnout at Kamloops advance polling stations ahead of Oct. 24 provincial election

Our Community