'Interesting dilemma': Weather leads to power outages, disruptions at some Elections BC voting places

Adverse weather has led to power outages and other disruptions at some Elections BC polling stations, and the organization has compiled a list of voting place updates so people are aware of resulting closures or changes in operating times.

The Elections BC website says the polling stations on Mayne, Denman and Hornby islands have reopened following power outages earlier Saturday amid torrential rain.

A station on the North Island, meanwhile, has limited hours due to election official availability.

“It is October 19th, the final voting day for the provincial election in B.C. We’ll have over 1,200 voting places across the province today…” said Andrew Watson, Election BC’s communications director, in an interview Saturday morning.

“It has much been on the radar of our operations team leading up to final voting day. We have seen some power outages at voting places, and we’ve been communicating with BC Hydro to make sure they’re aware of those outages, and they can be addressed as soon as possible.” 

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Parts of Vancouver Island and surrounding areas are currently under rainfall warnings, while flood warnings and watches are also in effect.

Lorna Archer-Quinn lives on Saturna Island and says she and her neighbours were impacted by power outages on Saturday morning, when trees were down across roads, making it a challenge for people to get to the local polling station.

“There are a large amount of people who live past where the tree came down. I’m not sure if they’ve voted yet. There was no advanced voting on Saturna,” Archer-Quinn told CHEK News.

“We were not blocked, thankfully … And if the weather continues as it’s supposed to, more trees can come down.”

READ ALSO: Highway 14 between Port Renfrew, Jordan River fully closed due to flooding: DriveBC

A BC Hydro spokesperson says crews are “fixing up Saturna” following the outages. “We’re fortunate not to have too many outages, considering how nasty it was,” said BC Hydro’s Ted Olynyk, adding that the power there should be restored by noon.

“It’s not widespread.”

Olynyk says hydro crews are prioritizing outages at polling stations to minimize disruptions. “We had crews on standby for this event,” he said.

Check BC Hydro’s website for updates.

“Hydro crews, I must admit, are really good. They’re focusing their attention on polling stations without power,” said Archer-Quinn.

But she’s worried the weather may hamper people’s ability to get out and vote, especially on Saturna, where advance voting wasn’t an option. She says people had to make the trek to Sidney if they wanted to vote prior to today.

Environment Canada says the downpour should ease sometime Sunday but warns of hazards, like water pooling on roads and minor coastal flooding, in the meantime.

“What’s Elections Canada planning to do if people can’t cast their vote because of the weather? It’s an interesting dilemma,” added Archer-Quinn.

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An Elections BC spokesperson says voters can vote at any voting place today and can call 1-800-661-8683 for information on their voting options.

“If there is an outage and one voting place, we have the ability to redirect voters to the next closest voting place for them,” said Watson.

He was unable to provide statistics on weather impacting voter turnout.

“We don’t have any data on the relationship between turnout and weather, but I believe academic studies have looked at this question,” he added.

“So far, we’ve seen record turnout during the advanced voting period. Just over a million voters cast their ballot during advanced voting for this election, and we’re hopeful that this turnout continues here on final voting day.”

READ MORE: B.C. voters break advance polling record, Vancouver Island sees highest turnout