Advance voting in B.C. election is down vs. 2024; meagre turnout in Chilliwack North so far

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The number of ballots cast in the first three days of advance voting in the British Columbia election is down about 8 per cent compared to 2024.

In one Chilliwack riding, the turnout has been underwhelming to say the least.

Elections BC says there were about 440,000 votes cast from Friday to Sunday, compared to almost 480,000 for the first three days of advance voting last election, which set a record for total advance turnout.

Early voting continues at hundreds of places across the province today and tomorrow until 8 p.m. ahead of final voting day on Saturday.

There were more than one million advance ballots cast in 2024, a surge of 49 per cent compared to the previous election, and a report by the chief electoral officer says the process has been steadily increasing in popularity for two decades.

The report says almost half of all votes in 2024 were cast in advance, compared to about 20 per cent as recently as 2013.

The ballots cast in advance so far for the current election represent about 12 per cent of all registered voters.

The report shows only 3,607 eligible voters out of 41,633 registered voters in Chilliwack North, or 8.6 per cent, have cast ballots after three days of advance voting. This riding is not expected to be competitive based on the nearly 17-point margin of victory the B.C. Conservative Party candidate, Heather Maahs, won in October 2024.

For comparison purposes, 6,178 voters out of 43,872 registered voters in Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, or 14 per cent, have cast ballots after three days of advance voting. This riding is projected to be a closer race with just two candidates, Kelli Paddon and Á’a:líya Warbus. Warbus won the riding by less than 10 percentage points in October 2024.

In the Fraser Nicola riding, 3,435 voters out of 35,043 registered voters have exercised their democratic right in the first three days of advance voting, or 9.8 per cent. The Fraser Nicola riding encompasses Hope, Harrison Hot Springs, Agassiz (District of Kent), Seabird Island, the Fraser Canyon and Merritt.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.

The Canadian Press

Fraser Valley Today reporter Mike Vanden Bosch contributed to this report.