BC Voters Prepare to Cast Ballots in Close Election

October 19, 2024 TruthUSA

Voters in B.C. are casting ballots in the provincial election today, in what has been a tight race between the incumbent NDP and the Conservative Party of B.C.

Voting is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time on Oct. 19, with polling stations in 93 ridings. Both the NDP and Conservatives have candidates in each riding.

A Mainstreet Research survey has the incumbent NDP and the BC Conservatives virtually neck and neck.

The survey results released on Oct. 18 in a post on the X platform show the Conservatives leading by 3 points with 45 percent of decided voters saying they support the party. The NDP is at 42 percent, and the Greens at 10 percent.

Many will have to brave heavy rain to fill in their ballots as Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a rainfall warning for several parts of metro Vancouver.

The storm is expected to bring up to 155 millimetres of rain to the area, according to ECCC. Some areas could see more than 180 millimetres. It said there’s a risk of water pooling on highways and roads, as well as the potential for localized flooding.

The storm is expected to ease up in the evening, with more rain forecast for Oct. 22.

More than a million voters were able to escape the rain by voting early. Advanced polls saw a record turnout, with 28 percent of the electorate casting an early ballot.

Elections B.C. said 1,001,331 people cast votes between Oct. 10 and 16, including 222,907 voting on the final day of advanced polls.

The previous record was set during the pandemic in the 2020 election where 19 percent of registered voters (671,231) participated in advance polls.

NDP leader David Eby has encouraged residents to vote, calling it “the most important provincial election in a generation.”

John Rustad, who became the Conservative Party leader in March 2023 after crossing the floor from BC United, posted a photo on X of him and his wife Kim casting their ballots, urging people to vote and saying it was the first time he had voted Conservative.

The B.C. Green Party leader said the weather was evidence the province needed to go in a new direction.

“We need proactive solutions that protect people, communities, and our future,” Sonia Furstenau said in an Oct. 18 post

Campaign Promises

The 28-day campaign has seen the NDP promising extensions to medical care financial support and to speed up construction by using modular housing. Eby also said the province’s trial of safe consumption sites had not been a success.

During the Oct. 8 leaders’ debate, Eby said the trial had not produced the results anyone wanted and the government needs to change course.

During the campaign, the Conservatives criticized the NDP for their policy on drug use and addictions, saying if elected the Conservatives would get rid of consumption sites. Rustad also said he would introduce a tax credit for housing costs, and adjust the funding model for health care to improve access.

Furstenau promised a Green Party government would work towards opening 93 community health-care centres, expanding the number of drug consumption sites, and improve education on addiction.

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