---
title: "Vancouver public safety plebiscite results will not be known until October 21"
description: "The City of Vancouver counted candidate ballots by machine on election night, but the plebiscite forms will be scanned and tallied over the following days."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/plebiscite-results-delayed-october-17"
last_updated: "2026-10-18T01:55:41.276Z"
---

Vancouver voters who filled out the public safety plebiscite form on October 17 will wait until October 21 for the results, Daily Hive Vancouver reported late on election night.

The delay comes from how the City processed the two different ballot forms. Voters at each polling station submitted two completed forms: one listing their choices for Mayor, City Council, Park Board, and School Board, and a second form for the plebiscite. The candidate forms went into tabulator machines, which count votes electronically on the spot. The plebiscite forms went into cardboard boxes, and the City will scan and count them over the coming days.

## What the plebiscite asked

The plebiscite put two questions to voters. The first asked whether they support enabling greater enforcement against public hard drug use in public spaces. The second asked whether they support creating a secure medical treatment facility for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.

Both questions are non-binding. The results tell Council what voters think, but Council is not required to act on them.

## October 21 for all official results

The City will release plebiscite results on October 21. Daily Hive Vancouver reported that October 21 is also the date for official election results across all four races, after the full count and mail ballot processing are complete.

Preliminary candidate results will begin to appear after polls close at 8 p.m. on October 17, but those numbers will shift as mail ballots and remaining in-person ballots are counted.

## Advance voting set a record

More than 103,000 voters cast ballots during the four advance voting days before election day, Daily Hive Vancouver reported. That figure is up by about 60 per cent from the 65,000 advance voters in the 2022 civic election, which ran across five advance voting days.

The City also expanded from 22 advance voting locations in 2022 to 59 in 2026. Daily Hive Vancouver noted the plebiscite itself may have been one factor drawing more voters to the polls early.

## What voters can do

Voters who want to follow the results can check the City of Vancouver's election page on the evening of October 17 for preliminary candidate counts. Official results for both the candidate races and the plebiscite will be published on October 21. See [/where-to-vote](/where-to-vote) for links to the City's results pages.

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