How is Elections BC going to count all those absentee ballots?

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – The COVID-19 pandemic has meant a record breaking year for voters turning to mail-in ballots to cast their vote in the provincial election.

An estimated 478,900 vote-by-mail packages have already been received by Elections BC as of Friday morning. The agency is expecting about 500,000 absentee ballots overall this election.

For context, there were a total of 6,500 mail in ballots cast in 2017 of the overall 200,000 absentee votes.

Elections BC says this year, 725,000 vote-by-mail packages were requested, representing around 20 per cent of eligible voters in this province.

Voter turnout ahead of #BCelxn2020 is 33.3% with almost half a million mail-in ballots received and 681-thousand advance polling votes cast.
Overall turnout in 2017 was 61.2%, but that dropped to 57.7% after those not eligible were weeded out. #BCvotes2020 #bcpoli @NEWS1130 https://t.co/PFOdcN7G6h

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) October 23, 2020

Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman says Elections BC is using the same processes this year as in the past. What will be different this time around is the number and percentage of ballots counted on election night.

“Usually 90 per cent of all ballots cast in an election are counted on election night. In this election, it could be between 65 to 70 per cent of all ballots will be counted and reported on election night, with the remainder, perhaps 30 to 35 per cent, on final count,” Boegman says.

Counting all of absentee ballots will take time — a lot more than in past years, as these types of votes cannot be tabulated until at least 13 days after the election.

“All of the mail-in ballots, all the other absentee ballots are screened and reviewed to make sure that didn’t happen, and that can’t take place to make sure that someone didn’t try to cast a ballot on election day and also try to cast a mail-in ballot,” Andrew Watson with Elections BC explained in September.

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With the high number of mail-in votes needing to be counted, the final results of the election may not be known until early next month — despite Election Day being Saturday, Oct. 24.

Specifically, mail-in and other absentee ballots could impact close races, with the delay meaning we could be waiting weeks to find out who the winner is.

Voters still have time to turn their voting packages in. Mail-in ballots must be received by Elections BC no later than 8 p.m. on Oct. 24, and can be dropped off at a voting location.

Why does it take 13 days

As Watson noted, the delay in counting mail-in and other absentee votes is due to the screening and review process required to ensure a voter doesn’t vote more than once. That voter’s eligibility also needs to be verified.

The ballots are sent to the district where the voter lives for this process to take place.

Elections BC says due to the significant increase in these types of ballots — with mail-in votes growing in popularity due to the COVID-19 pandemic — it’s possible there will be a further delay.

The volume of votes mailed in may require an extension of the 13-day preparatory period and final count, Elections BC explains.

The election count must go on

In an effort to get results out as soon as possible, Election BC says it will be increasing the resources for counting.

There will be dedicated teams in each district to count ballots that come in. While the final count normally takes a period of three days, Elections BC explains it could take longer and the start of counting may be staggered depending on the circumstances.

The agency has promised to provide as much information to the public as possible throughout the counting process.

Advance voting

According to Elections BC, 681,055 voters cast their ballot in advance polls this past week.

British Columbians had seven days — up from the previous six in 2017 — to cast their votes in advance.

Overall, more than a million British Columbians have already voted — that represents more than half the number of people who are expected to vote overall.

Head to our B.C. Votes 2020 page for all your election-related news in the lead up to and on Election Day, and don’t forget to join us starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday for full coverage.