Greater Victoria casts 100,242 advance ballots

Greater Victoria voters cast 100,242 advance ballots over six days ahead of Saturday’s B.C. provincial election, according to Elections BC figures reported by Victoria News.

With 352,170 registered voters in the region as of Oct. 14, up to 252,928 more people could still vote on general voting day, Oct. 24. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Early turnout fell from 2024 levels in Victoria’s ridings, the Times Colonist reported, citing Elections BC data. Victoria-Beacon Hill had 14,110 advance votes, or 31.7 per cent of eligible voters, down from 37.2 per cent in 2024. Victoria-Swan Lake had 10,877, or 26.5 per cent, down from 29.1 per cent.

One of the steepest drops was in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, where 10,458 advance votes made up 24.8 per cent of eligible voters, compared with 39 per cent in 2024. Esquimalt-Colwood fell to 25.2 per cent from 32.9 per cent, and Langford-Highlands to 22.1 per cent from 31.9 per cent.

Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Saanich North and the Islands had some of the highest advance turnout on Vancouver Island, at about 34 per cent each, though both were also below their 2024 levels.

Across Vancouver Island, average advance turnout was 27.6 per cent, down from 32.4 per cent in 2024. Province-wide, about 24 per cent of eligible voters, or more than 890,000 people, voted early, down from 28 per cent, a drop the Times Colonist said is partly blamed on voter fatigue from overlapping campaigns, with municipal elections held a week earlier.

Most ballots cast on Saturday will be counted by hand, while advance ballots are counted by tabulator and will be reported first on election night, Elections BC has said. Mail-in and absentee ballots will be counted from Nov. 6 to 10.

For the province-wide picture, see our earlier story on B.C.’s drop in advance voting, and our coverage of the Victoria mayoral race.

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