Polling stations at Sahali Mall and elsewhere in Kamloops are equipped with sanitizing stations and plexiglass to protect voting officials and the voters (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

Election 2020

Kamloops voters feeling safe on first day of advance voting ahead of Oct. 24 election

Oct 15, 2020 | 4:32 PM

KAMLOOPS — The line-ups were long and remained throughout the day at Sahali Mall as the polling stations opened for day one of advance voting.

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” said district electoral officer for Kamloops-South Thompson Deborah Lipscombe. “Advance voting is really popular for a lot of different reasons. Even though we have all options that we do — between voting by mail and telephone voting, as well as the general voting day, having advance polls for seven days up here is obviously a good choice for us.”

Sahali Mall will open to voters from now until next Wednesday, Oct. 21. Many voters who lined up on the first day didn’t necessary want to be voting during a pandemic.

“I’d rather not do that [vote during COVID-19], but if we have to we’ll do it if it’s safe, and this is safe.”

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Elections BC officials at Sahali Mall have been diligently setting up the polling stations safely leading up to opening day. There are hand sanitizers throughout and barriers to keep people separated.

“It’s been really good. We haven’t had any negative response to this point. The voting officials are taking extreme caution,” noted Lipscombe. “We’re wiping down the stations regularly between voters, we have protective plexiglass screens, just like everybody’s used to at the grocery store. The voting officials are wearing masks.”

Most voters are masked up as well, and many felt safe voting in person.

“It’s good. I worked at the hospital, so seems safer than working there,” said voter Patricia Stachiw.

“It was fine actually,” said Nicky Verheyen. “Everything’s spaced out really well. It’s clean.”

Chris Fortier added, “It’s always controlled. There are dedicated volunteers that care. It just felt controlled.”

However, some in the region are opting vote by mail. According to Elections BC, 7,800 voters in the Kamloops-South Thompson riding have requested mail-in ballots. In the Kamloops-North, that number is 5,500.

If advance voting is anything like the first day, Sahali Mall will be busy for the next week.