Elections BC says it will count election day ballots by hand, as it did in the 2020 snap election
Elections BC confirmed that ballots cast on October 24 general voting day will be counted by hand, while advance and district office ballots will use tabulators. Advance results are expected first on election night.
Reported. A news outlet found this. voche.me names the outlet and links its report. Read the original report on cheknews.ca.
Ballots cast on general voting day, October 24, 2026, will be counted by hand, Elections BC confirmed to CHEK News on October 21. Advance voting ballots and votes cast at district electoral offices will be counted using tabulators, and Elections BC says it expects those results to come in first on election night.
CHEK News reported the story on October 21. The article was written by Laura Brougham.
What Elections BC said
Elections BC said in a statement to CHEK News: "Ballots cast on Final Voting Day will be counted by hand, as we did in the previous 'snap' election in 2020. This is due to the short timeframes and complex operational logistics of a snap election."
Elections BC also told CHEK News: "We expect results from these voting opportunities to be reported first on election night," referring to advance and district electoral office ballots counted by tabulator.
Elections BC did not say at what time it expects general voting day results to be available.
Timeline for all ballots
Absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted between November 6 and 10, 2026. CHEK News reported that Elections BC anticipates more than 2 million ballots in total across all categories.
What an expert told CHEK News
David Black, an associate professor at Royal Roads University, told CHEK News that hand counting has public confidence behind it. "There is actually more public trust in hand counting than there is in electronic tabulation," Black said. He also told CHEK News that both methods are accurate.
What a voter can do
If you plan to vote on Saturday, October 24, check your voting location at elections.bc.ca before you go. Advance voting has already closed. If you receive a result on election night, bear in mind that absentee and mail-in ballots will not be counted until November 6 to 10, and the final count may differ from the preliminary result.
Questions this story answers
Will election day ballots in BC be counted by hand or by machine?
Elections BC confirmed to CHEK News that ballots cast on general voting day, October 24, 2026, will be counted by hand. Elections BC said this is because of the short timeframes and complex operational logistics of a snap election. It is the same approach Elections BC used in the 2020 snap election. Advance voting ballots and votes cast at district electoral offices will be counted using tabulators rather than by hand.
Why is Elections BC using hand counting for election day ballots?
Elections BC told CHEK News: 'Ballots cast on Final Voting Day will be counted by hand, as we did in the previous snap election in 2020. This is due to the short timeframes and complex operational logistics of a snap election.' Elections BC did not give further detail about which specific logistics made hand counting necessary for election day ballots while tabulators remained in use for other categories.
When will election night results be available?
Elections BC told CHEK News it expects results from advance voting and district electoral office voting to be reported first on election night, because those ballots will be counted by tabulator. Hand-counted general voting day ballots are expected to take longer. Elections BC did not give a specific time by which it expects to have general voting day results.
When will absentee and mail-in ballots be counted?
Absentee and mail-in ballots will be counted and reported between November 6 and 10, 2026. These are counted after election night because the law allows them to arrive after voting day. If the race is close, the absentee and mail-in count can change the result from what was reported on election night.
How many ballots are expected in total?
CHEK News reported that Elections BC anticipates more than 2 million ballots in total. The article does not break that figure down by category. The figure comes from CHEK News and is based on information Elections BC provided to that outlet. voche.me has not independently confirmed it with Elections BC.
What do experts say about hand counting versus tabulators?
David Black, an associate professor at Royal Roads University, told CHEK News: 'There is actually more public trust in hand counting than there is in electronic tabulation.' He also told CHEK News that both hand counting and electronic tabulation are accurate methods. Those statements are from the CHEK News article. Black spoke to CHEK News and his remarks have not been independently verified by voche.me.
Is this approach different from past BC elections?
Elections BC said this approach is the same one it used in the 2020 snap election, which was also called on short notice. Elections BC told CHEK News that snap elections create short timeframes and complex logistics that make hand counting the practical choice for election day ballots. Regular scheduled elections in BC have used tabulators more broadly, but Elections BC did not address that comparison in the CHEK News article.
What should I do before voting on October 24?
Voting day is Saturday, October 24, 2026. Bring your voter card or acceptable ID to your assigned voting place. You can find your voting location at elections.bc.ca. Advance voting has already closed. If you have not voted and are not sure which voting place to go to, check elections.bc.ca before you leave.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- CHEK News, October 21, 2026cheknews.ca
- Elections BC websiteelections.bc.ca
Found an error? Tell the editors with the corrections form. A correction is noted on the story it changes. Read our standards.
Topics
More from voche.me
891,348 voters cast advance ballots in BC's six-day window, down from 2024
