VANCOUVER — Elections BC has confirmed that ballots cast on election day this Saturday will be counted by hand, a departure from the electronic tabulation used in the 2024 provincial vote. The agency also said absentee and mail-in ballots will not be included in the election-night totals and will instead be tallied during a scheduled final count the week after the vote.
What will be reported on election night
The agency’s announcement means preliminary results released when polls close will reflect only ballots handled at polling stations on Saturday evening. Absentee and mail-in ballots — which can be substantial in number in some ridings — will be processed separately during the official final count, set for Nov. 6 to Nov. 10.
"In past elections first results typically started to be reported around 45 minutes after polls closed," it said.
The decision follows debate about how quickly and accurately results should be made public. Elections BC pointed to the experience from the 2024 election, when electronic tabulation produced very fast preliminary reporting: the first preliminary results were available within minutes and more than half of preliminary results were posted within 30 minutes. That speed will not be replicated this year because of the manual counting on election night.
Voter turnout and advance voting
Advance voting this week was noticeably lower than last election. Elections BC reported more than 891,000 advance votes were cast between Friday and Wednesday — about 24 per cent of registered voters. That is a decline from the spike seen in 2024, when advance voting surged.
- 2026 advance votes: more than 891,000 (≈24% of registered voters)
- 2024 advance votes: more than 1,000,000 (a 49% increase over the previous election)
Below is a simple comparison of the available advance-vote figures.
| Year | Advance votes | Share of registered voters |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | >891,000 | ≈24% |
| 2024 | >1,000,000 | higher; rose 49% from previous election |
Campaign context and local battlegrounds
The procedural update comes as campaigns entered their final full day. Surrey remained a focal point — the city has 10 provincial ridings and was the site of rallies and high-profile appearances this week. The B.C. Conservatives held a Surrey rally attended by the city’s mayor-elect, Doug McCallum, as well as former provincial premier Christy Clark and former Surrey mayors Linda Hepner and Dianne Watts.
NDP Leader David Eby was also in Surrey as he wrapped up the campaign, underscoring the municipality’s importance in deciding the provincial balance of power.
What voters should know
- Ballots cast at polling stations on Saturday will be counted manually; expect slower reporting of preliminary results than in 2024.
- Absentee and mail-in ballots will not be included on election night; they will be counted during the official final count from Nov. 6–10.
- If you cast an advance or mail-in ballot and are concerned about when it will be reported, Elections BC’s final-count schedule provides the timetable for when those votes will be processed.
The decision by Elections BC will affect how quickly voters and media receive a complete picture of the outcome. Officials have said the final count will reconcile all outstanding ballots and produce the definitive results for the province.
