Elections BC Encourages Voters to Get Ready for the October 19th Provincial Election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2024

VICTORIA – Elections BC is encouraging voters to get ready for the provincial election scheduled for October 19 by making sure their voter registration is up to date. They can do this by visiting elections.bc.ca/register or calling 1-800-661-8683.

“Making sure your voter registration information is up to date is one of the best ways to get ready for the provincial election,” said Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman. “Voting will be faster and easier if your information is current, and you’ll get a Where to Vote card from Elections BC after the election is called.”

Starting next week, Elections BC will be mailing voter registration notices across the province. The notices list the voters registered at the recipient address and ask the residents of that address to register or update their information as necessary.

The notices also list the voter’s new electoral district. There will be 93 electoral districts for the 2024 provincial election, up from 87 in the last provincial election in 2020. Voters can visit elections.bc.ca/mydistrict to view a map of their new electoral district.

To help update the provincial voters list, Elections BC will also be holding registration drives across the province in September. A list of registration drive locations is available on the Elections BC website.

The provincial election is scheduled to be called on Saturday, September 21. Advance voting is scheduled for October 10 to 13, and October 15 and 16. Final Voting Day is scheduled for Saturday, October 19.

What Elections BC is doing to get ready

Elections BC has been preparing for the provincial election for many months. The preparations for this election have included a greater focus on election security.

“The security environment around elections has changed in recent years,” says Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman. “While B.C. elections remain safe and secure, we need to be aware of increased risks to the electoral process and work with partners to mitigate them. These risks include cyber security and physical security risks, disinformation about the electoral process and the potential for foreign interference.”

A key initiative to safeguard election integrity has been the establishment of an Election Integrity Working Group. The working group, chaired by Elections BC, includes representatives from provincial and federal agencies with responsibilities for different aspects of election integrity. Importantly, it joins together expertise in cyber security, law enforcement and intelligence services with that of election, privacy and influence regulation.

Provincial agencies	Federal agencies
Elections BC Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia Office of the Registrar of Lobbyists for British Columbia BC Public Service Office of the Deputy Minister to the Premier Office of the Chief Information Officer	Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, a part of Communications Security Establishment Canada Canadian Security Intelligence Service Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Elections BC formed the Election Integrity Working Group in response to the complex and evolving risks to election integrity. The group will continue to meet on an ongoing basis leading up to and during the election, to assess the risk environment, facilitate collaboration between members, and support the development of appropriate risk-response strategies for individual agencies. The working group is unique at the provincial level in Canada. It will operate on a non-partisan basis at a non-classified level.

In addition to the Election Integrity Working Group, Elections BC has launched a new section of its website to provide voters with information about various aspects of election integrity. This includes information about:

• Keeping Elections Secure – This section includes descriptions of election processes that protect fundamental democratic principles, like the secret ballot and the principle of one person, one vote. 
• New Voting Processes – This section provides information about the technology Elections BC uses to administer provincial elections, and what Elections BC does to keep it secure.
• Facts About Voting – This section includes tips for voters on how to spot online misinformation about the voting process, and facts about voting that debunk common misconceptions about voting in BC. 

Voters can learn more about the Election Integrity Working Group and other safeguards that keep B.C. elections secure by visiting elections.bc.ca/integrity.

Attachments

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Contact:
Andrew Watson
Senior Director, Communications
Elections BC
Phone: 250-387-1709
Email: Andrew.Watson@elections.bc.ca
Website: elections.bc.ca

Elections BC is the independent, non-partisan Office of the Legislature responsible for administering electoral processes in British Columbia under provincial legislation, including the Election Act, Local Elections Campaign Financing Act, Recall and Initiative Act and Referendum Act.