Advance voting on October 17 tops up the numbers

Thursday, October 18 ~ WEST SHORE. [Updated at 12:25 pm]

The turnout for advance voting was stronger on October 17 than on October 10, and overall is stronger across the region than in 2014.

Yesterday in Langford there were 796 votes cast when combined with 303 from October 10 shows 1,099 cast for municipal and trustee names on the ballot. That’s about 4.2% of the 26,018 eligible voters (and up from about 2.3% advance voting in 2014).

There was a steady stream of voters throughout the day and evening in the 3rd-floor setup within Langford council chambers handled by two operators. On general voting day October 20 the voting locations are at two elementary schools (not city hall): Ruth King Elementary on Jacklin Road and Millstream Elementary on Hoy Lake Rd.

In Colwood at the close of advance voting the tally was 1,493 (with 517 of that from October 10, so 976 showed up October 17 to vote). That’s about 11.5% of the 12,968 eligible voters in Colwood.

There were about 85 voters per hour at the Colwood voting station. At some points there was a lineup out the door of the small room set up within the council chambers area that was compact but efficient. On general voting day October 20 the fuller council chambers room will be set up for voting. Colwood City Hall is at 3300 Wishart Rd.

In Sooke there was a total of advance voter turnout of 1,482 over the two days: 376 voters on October 10 and 1,006 voters on October 17. That’s up 21% from 1,184 total advance voter turnout for 2014. The advance turnout is about 15.2% of the 9,761 eligible voters in Sooke.

There were some lineups at the Sooke Community Hall location at some points yesterday. Two extra staff were brought in to help out (one had been pre-scheduled, but another was also required). At one point there was a “memory card issue” with the ballot scanner but that got sorted out.

The ballot scanning machines being used in the 2018 municipal and trustee election will alert operators of any spoiled ballots which includes not filling in the ‘bubble’ properly beside any of the selected candidate names, as well as if too many candidate names have been selected, or if a blank ballot is submitted. The notification is immediate, and the operator will ask the voter if they wish to maintain a spoiled ballot or try again. All ballots are retained. Last night at the Colwood voting place there were five spoiled ballots.

In general, local municipal and trustee candidates seem pleased with the greater interest in voting in the 2018 election. In areas like Victoria and Saanich the voter turnout jumped 11% and 13% respectively.

Voters may wish to note that candidate names on some ballots are not necessarily listed alphabetically.

More advance voters came out on October 17 than on October 10, pretty much across the region. In general, this is an indication of strong turnout on General Voting Day, which is Saturday October 20.