So far, advance voting in Qualicum Beach and Parksville is attracting more people than in the 2014 election, according to numbers from the town and city.
The first day of advance voting for Parksville, Qualicum Beach and the Regional District of Nanaimo was held on Oct. 10 (with a second advance voting day on Oct. 17 and the main vote for the election taking place Oct. 20).
“Participation continues to increase for the first day of advance voting,” said a news release from Qualicum Beach, where 880 people voted on Oct. 10.
That’s up from 702 for the 2014 first day of advance voting.
In 2014, there were 7,562 eligible voters.
That election saw 4,542 people vote, an about 60 per cent voter turnout, said the town’s chief election officer, Heather Svensen.
“Qualicum Beach residents show great community pride through high voter turnouts for local elections,” she said, noting that, historically, the town has had a voter turnout in the 60-per-cent range for many years.
She expects the second advance voting day to see even more people turn out to vote than the first day.
PARKSVILLE
The city saw 569 people vote at the advance voting day on Oct. 10.
That’s up from 301 in 2014 for the first advance vote.
The city has approximately 9,000 eligible voters. In 2014, the voter turnout was 3,383.
RDN
In the RDN, 693 people voted on Oct. 10 (however, that includes school district trustee votes as well in school districts other than SD69, where the trustees were acclaimed).
For full election coverage, including candidate profiles, videos and more, visit: www.pqbnews.com /municipal-election/