Shuswap residents looking to vote ahead of advanced voting days leading to the Oct. 24 B.C. election may do so at the region’s Elections BC office.
Located at 171 Shuswap Street (the former Salmon Arm Observer office), the Elections BC office is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those who are eligible to vote may do so at the office during these hours. Your “where to vote” card is required, along with a piece of valid identification (B.C. driver’s licence, B.C. Identification Card, a B.C. Services Card, a Certificate of Indian Status) that shows your name and address. Also advised is a face mask, as per pandemic restrictions and safety protocols.
Mail-in ballots can also be dropped off at the Shuswap office. However, vote-by-mail packages themselves must be requested from Elections BC, either through its website, or by calling 1-800-661-8683.
Completed vote-by-mail packages must be received by Elections BC before 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. (As of Oct. 8, approximately 646,000 B.C. voters had requested vote-by-mail packages.)
Advanced voting days in the province run, in general, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. between Thursday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 21.
In the Shuswap, advanced voting days are at the following locations:
• Salmon Arm: 5th Avenue Seniors Activity Centre, 170 5th Ave. SE, Oct. 15 to 21;
• Sicamous: Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Hall, 705 Cherry Ave., Oct. 15 to 18;
• Sorrento: Sorrento Drop-In Society, 1148 Passchendaele Rd., Oct. 15 to 19;
• Scotch Creek: Scotch Creek-Lee Creek Firehall, 3852 Squilax-Anglemont Rd., Oct. 15 to 16;
• Chase (Kamloops-South Thompson region): Chase Community Hall, 547 Shuswap Ave., Oct. 16 to 17, and 19.
In addition to bringing your voting card and ID, Elections BC encourages people voting during advanced voting days, or on election day, to bring a face mask to wear when casting a ballot, and bringing a pencil, if you wish, to mark the ballot with.
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