Eby’s Snap Election Hits the Ballot Box: Advance Voting Down as Final Advance Day Arrives
The early election was David Eby’s choice. The early voting receipt now shows the mobilization test is real.
David Eby called an early provincial election and asked British Columbians to make a fast judgment. Now the first real ballot-box receipt is in: advance voting is running behind the last provincial election.
The Canadian Press report carried by CFJC Today says Elections BC’s Tuesday figures showed about 571,000 ballots cast during the first four days of advance voting, from Friday through Monday. CP said that was down by about four per cent compared with the 2024 election, and represented about 15 per cent of registered voters.
Elections BC’s own advance-voting turnout table is more precise: 571,055 people voted from October 16 to 19, against 3,738,182 registered voters as of October 14. The agency also warns that advance-turnout figures during the voting period are preliminary and subject to change. That caveat matters. This is not proof of who wins. It is proof that the snap-election machine has to work harder than the NDP’s campaign timing implied.
The neutral voting facts are straightforward. Elections BC says advance voting runs October 16 to 21, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and final voting day is Saturday, October 24. Voters do not need a special reason to use advance voting and can vote at any advance voting location. Vote-by-mail packages must be received by 8 p.m. Pacific on October 24.
The political fact is sharper: Eby owns this calendar. He chose a compressed October campaign. He chose to ask for a mandate while voters were also dealing with local-election noise, final-week platform claims, cost-of-living pressure, health-care strain and housing promises that still need delivery receipts. If participation is softer at the advance window, the governing party cannot pretend timing is someone else’s problem.
To be clear, lower advance voting does not automatically mean lower final turnout. Some voters may wait for October 24. Some may use district electoral offices or mail ballots. Different weather, ridings, local contests and voter habits can change the shape of the count. A responsible reading is not “the election is decided.” A responsible reading is that the government’s early-election bet has produced a measurable turnout test before the last ballots are cast.
That is why the four-per-cent decline matters. The NDP wanted an early answer. British Columbians deserve a full answer: who turned out, who stayed home, and whether a government that rushed the clock actually strengthened democratic participation or simply made the province vote on the NDP’s preferred schedule.
So use the window. Vote today if advance voting works for you. Vote October 24 if that is your plan. But take the calendar into the booth with the record. Eby picked the timing. Voters get to write the verdict.