More than 400 people made a decision on Nanaimo’s newest council member during the first advanced voting day Wednesday.
There are 13 candidates on the ballot, vying for a single seat on Nanaimo city council vacated after the resignation of Wendy Pratt.
Sheila Gurrie, chief election officer, said there were 430 ballots cast on Wednesday. It’s less than the event centre referendum, which saw more than 1,000 cast on the first advanced voting day, and more than 2,000 on the second, but Gurrie said it’s up from the byelection in 2011, which had 500 ballots cast over the two days and 6,328 in total.
“I am hoping that it’s going to be busier than that, though judging from yesterday, I don’t suspect its going to be anywhere near the referendum totals,” Gurrie said.
The next day for advanced voting is Wednesday (July 5) from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at Nanaimo Alliance Church, on Meredith Road. General voting day is July 8. People can watch for preliminary results on the city website after the polls close on voting day.
The Shaw Auditorium at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre will also be open from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. where candidates can come and watch the results come in.
Gurrie encourages everybody to get out and vote.
Look for profiles on byelection candidates in the News Bulletin Tuesday.
Advanced polls for the #Nanaimo by-election open until 8PM! Next chance to vote is July 5. More info: https://t.co/oxH9bvpSY1 #YCD pic.twitter.com/tIwAkgsqOQ
— City of Nanaimo (@cityofnanaimo) June 28, 2017