Advanced polls for the B.C. election opened across the province Wednesday, May 8, and will run until May 11, with stations open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. each day.
Two advanced polling stations are open in Williams Lake.
One at the Cariboo Memorial Complex’s Gibraltar Room for Cariboo-Chilcotin voters, the other the Ramada Overlander Hotel at 1118 Lakeview Crescent for Cariboo North voters.
“Everybody needs to bring their ‘where to vote’ card,” Cariboo-Chilcotin Deputy District Electoral Officer Linda Isfeld said.
“Don’t recycle it. It will move things along and streamline the process if people bring them with them.”
Cariboo North District Electoral Officer Wayne Rodier visited the advanced polling stations in Williams Lake and Quesnel Wednesday morning.
“Both seemed fairly busy, which is a good sign,” Rodier said, adding he “encouraged everybody to get out and vote.”
On general voting day, Tuesday May 14, Cariboo-Chilcotin riding voters are assigned to a number of different venues for voting.
The ‘where to vote’ card will give people their voting locations, Isfeld said.
For Cariboo North Williams Lake area voters, polling stations will be at the Ramada Overland Convention Centre, Williams Lake Indian Band gym, 150 Mile fire hall, McLeese Lake, Miocene, Big Lake, Horsefly, and Likely community halls and at Wildwood school.
For Cariboo-Chilcotin Williams Lake area polling stations will be set up at the Gibraltar Room, Marie Sharpe, Glendale, Cataline, Chilcotin Road, Mountview, and Kwaleen elementary schools as well as St. Andrew’s United Church.
Polling stations for Cariboo-Chilcotin voters south of Williams Lake will be set up at the Lac La Hache Seniors Centre, Chimney-Felker Lake Fire Hall, Sxoxmic School at Alkali Lake; and the Dog Creek Community Hall.
Cariboo-Chilcotin polling stations west of the Fraser River will be set up at the Toosey Band office at Riske Creek; the Lee residence at Hanceville; Alexis Creek Community Hall; Bonner residence on Fletcher Lake; Naghtanequed Elementary School in Nemaiah Valley; Tsi Del Del School at Chilanko Forks; the Anaham band school; Tatla Lake school; and Anahim Lake courthouse.
People should check their voting cards carefully to see where their particular voting station is located.
People without the voting card can still vote, but will have to bring identification to register, Isfeld said.
All voters must prove their identity and residential address to receive a ballot or to register when voting.
Acceptable types of identification include a single document issued by the Government of B.C. or Canada that contains the voter’s name, photograph and residential address, such as a B.C. driver’s licence, B.C. Identification Card (BCID), or B.C. Services Card.
A Certificate of Indian Status as issued by the Government of Canada is also acceptable.
A third option is two documents that together show the voter’s name and residential address.
Both documents must show the voter’s name.
At least one of the documents must also contain the voter’s residential address.
Digital or electronic documents (e.g. e-bills) are acceptable.
Hand-written information on a document, photocopies or electronic scans/photos of a paper document are not acceptable.
Elections BC will be posting the previous day’s advanced poll number of votes cast results on its website at noon each day.
“There’s a lot of great information on the website,” Isfeld said.
Cariboo North presently has 23,316 eligible voters, of which 6,252 live in the southern portion, while the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding has 20,998 registered voters.
During the 2009 election Cariboo North experienced a 60 per cent or 14,148 voter turnout whereas in Cariboo-Chilcotin it was 62.9 per cent or 13,080 voter participation.