B.C. VOTES 2020: Advance voting begins today in Clearwater

British Columbians who have already made up their minds in the provincial election will be able to cast their ballots in-person, starting today.

Advance voting runs from Oct. 15 to Oct. 21, with Election Day on Oct. 24.

Elections BC had received roughly 670,000 vote-by-mail package requests as of Oct. 14. There are 3.48 million registered voters in B.C.

READ MORE: Here’s how voting amid a pandemic will happen in B.C.

Here’s what you need to know before you vote:

Advance polling locations:

Advance voting places will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time on the days they are open.

• Royal Canadian Legion 259 — 3 257 Glen Rd, Clearwater, B.C. Open Thurs. Oct. 15 to Sun. Oct. 18
• Barriere Lions Club — 350 Borthwick Ave, Barriere, B.C. Open Thurs. Oct. 15 to Sun. Oct. 18
• North Shore Comm Centre — 730 Cottonwood Ave, Kamloops, B.C. Open Thurs. Oct. 15 to Wed. Oct. 21
• Kamloops Christian School — 750 Cottonwood Ave, Kamloops, B.C. Open Thurs. Oct. 15 to Tues. Oct. 20
• Moccasin Square Gardens — 200 355 Yellowhead Hwy, Kamloops, B.C. Open Thurs. Oct. 15 to Wed. Oct 21

Candidates running in the riding:

BC Liberal Party — Peter Milobar

BC NDP — Sadie Hunter

BC Green Party — Thomas Martin

BC Conservative Party — Dennis Giesbrecht

Independent — Brandon Russell

ALSO READ: BC Votes 2020

Voter registration:

While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.

Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683. Registration closed on Sept. 26.

To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification:

• A B.C. driver’s licence
• A B.C. Identification Card
• A B.C. Services Card, with photo
• A Certificate of Indian Status
• Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address

Health rules for voting during COVID-19:

All voting places and district electoral offices will have protective measures in place, including:

• Physical distancing
• Capacity limits
• Election officials wearing personal protective equipment (such as masks and face-visors)
• Protective barriers
• Hand sanitizing stations
• Frequent cleaning of voting stations and frequently touched surfaces
• Election workers trained on safe workplace guidelines and pandemic protocols

– with files from Ashley Wadhwani