The Creston Valley Advance caught up with voters and staff at the RotaCrest Hall voting station in Creston on Saturday for the provincial election.
Each voter was asked the same question: how was your voting experience during a pandemic?
“From a supervisor standpoint, it’s a lot of extra details because of the flow patterns, where people are standing and how many people can be in a room. It’s an onerous challenge,” said Doug Johns, a supervisor at RotaCrest Hall voting station.
“We voted at the advance polling stations, and I was pleased with how easy, quick and efficient it was,” said his wife Yvonne, who is a supervisor at the Wyndell voting station.
“I didn’t have any problems, except wearing a mask fogs up my glasses in the cold,” said John Chisamore.
“It’s my first time working an election, but it’s been great. The people have been great. I’ve always wanted to see how the election works,” said Lori Kergan, one of the workers at the RotaCrest Hall voting station.
“I voted during advanced voting. It was really smooth, organized and quick,” said Devon Caron, who works for the Green Party candidate Nicole Charlwood.
“It didn’t feel too different. Everything went smoothly,” said Mary Schmelzel, one of the workers at the RotaCrest Hall voting station.
Click here to see locations for every voting place in Nelson-Creston: https://elections.bc.ca/docs/GVD-voting-places.pdf
Candidates running in the riding:
• Election 2020: Nicole Charlwood
• Election 2020: Terry Tiessen
• Election 2020: Brittny Anderson
Voter registration:
While eligible voters don’t have to register ahead of time to take part in the election, Elections BC recommends British Columbians sign up ahead of time in order to avoid lengthy lineups.
Voters can register or update their information online at elections.bc.ca/ovr or by calling 1-800-661-8683. Registration closed on Sept. 26.
To be eligible, British Columbians must be able to show one of the following pieces of identification:
- A B.C. driver’s licence
- A B.C. Identification Card
- A B.C. Services Card, with photo
- A Certificate of Indian Status
- Another card issued by the B.C. government, or Canada, that shows your name, photo and address
Health rules for voting during COVID-19:
All voting places and district electoral offices will have protective measures in place, including:
- Physical distancing
- Capacity limits
- Election officials wearing personal protective equipment (such as masks and face-visors)
- Protective barriers
- Hand sanitizing stations
- Frequent cleaning of voting stations and frequently touched surfaces
- Election workers trained on safe workplace guidelines and pandemic protocols
– with files from Ashley Wadhwani