Vancouver election day, October 17, 2026: hours, voting places, ID and what is on the ballot

Today is election day in Vancouver. This page puts everything you need on one screen: when to go, where, what to bring, what you will vote on, and when the numbers start to arrive. Each section links to a longer guide if you want the detail.

When

Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 8am to 8pm.

The date is set by law. Section 9 of the Vancouver Charter says general voting day is the third Saturday of October in an election year. Section 67 says election day voting places must be open from 8am to 8pm.

If you have a mail ballot, the City must receive it by 8pm today. A postmark does not count. Take it to a drop box: the boxes at City Hall (453 West 12th Ave, south entrance) and the Election Office (305 West 8th Ave) are open 24 hours a day. The City says that if you applied for a mail ballot package, you cannot vote in person.

Where

The City's 2026 voter's guide says voting takes place at any of 85 voting places today.

Any of them. The City's where to vote page says, "You can vote at any voting place." Its open data notes say Vancouver has used this vote anywhere model since 2014.

Find a place, with a map, on our where to vote page.

UBC and University Endowment Lands voters have different rules. You can vote for school trustees only, and today you can vote only at the UBC AMS Student Nest (6133 University Blvd) or University Hill Secondary School (3228 Ross Dr).

If you need an accessible voting device, the City lists 4 places with assistive ballot marking devices today, from 8am to 8pm: Dunbar Community Centre, Renfrew Park Community Centre, Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, and Sunset Community Centre. The City also offers curbside voting at most locations and a priority line at every voting place.

What to bring

If you are on the voters list, section 87 of the Charter says you sign a declaration that you are entitled to vote and have not voted before, and then sign the voting book with your name and address.

If you are not on the list, you can register at the voting place, right before you vote. Section 30 of the Charter allows it. The City asks for 2 pieces of ID. Together they must show:

• your name, on both,
• your address, on at least 1, and
• your signature, on at least 1.

A utility bill on your phone, a transit card and a hospital bracelet are all on the City's list of accepted documents. If you have no fixed address, the City says you can register with an intersection or the address of a shelter you use.

To qualify as a resident voter you must be 18 or older today, be a Canadian citizen, have lived in BC for at least 6 months before you register, and live in Vancouver. The full rules are in our guide to ID and registering at the voting place.

What you vote on

You will get 2 ballots, according to the City.

Ballot 1: the four races. The City's guide says you may vote for:

That is 27 seats. Vancouver has no wards. Every seat is elected across the whole city, so every voter chooses from the same list for each race. Candidates are listed in an order set by a random draw, each with a number beside their name.

Ballot 1 also carries 3 Capital Plan borrowing questions. The City says they ask whether Council may borrow a total of $790 million between January 1, 2027 and December 31, 2030:

1. $292 million for transportation and street infrastructure, including work on the Granville Bridge and Cambie Bridge,
2. $438 million for community centres, pools, libraries, fire halls and other civic buildings, and
3. $60 million for parks, including the seawall, playgrounds and sport courts.

If a majority votes yes on a question, the City says Council can borrow the money for those projects.

Ballot 2: 2 plebiscite questions. One asks whether the City should strengthen its laws to forbid open-air hard drug use in public spaces. The other asks whether the City should formally ask the Province to convert part of the old St. Paul's Hospital, or a similar site, into a secure medical facility with voluntary and involuntary care beds. The City says these questions are non-binding: the results show Council what people think, and Council does not have to act on them. UBC and University Endowment Lands voters do not get this ballot.

You answer every question Yes or No. You may skip any question, and any race.

The one rule that cancels votes

Section 101(4) of the Charter says a ballot is rejected for a race if it has more marks in that race than there are seats. Mark 11 names for council and none of your council votes count. Section 101(3) treats each race separately, so your other races still count.

Marking fewer names than the limit is allowed. Mark only the ballot. Section 101(4) also rejects the whole ballot if it is marked in a way that could identify you.

Made a mistake? Section 90 says you can hand the spoiled ballot to the presiding election official and get a new one, as long as it has not gone into the ballot box.

Our guide to marking the Vancouver ballot goes through each rule.

Inside the voting place

• Your vote is secret. Section 85 says nobody may try to find out how you voted, and you cannot be required to reveal it in any legal proceeding.
• One vote per person. Section 86 says a person must not vote more than once in the same election.
• Ask for help. Section 91 says an election official must explain how to mark the ballot if you ask. A voter who cannot mark a ballot because of a disability or difficulty reading or writing can bring a helper or ask an official to help (section 93).
• Language help. The City's 2026 guide lists on-demand interpretation in more than 240 languages, and more than 2,200 election workers across the city.

When results start

Counting cannot begin early. Section 95 of the Charter says votes must not be counted until general voting closes at 8pm, and must be counted as soon as practicable after that. That includes every advance ballot and every mail ballot.

Section 106 lets the chief election officer announce preliminary results tonight, added up from the totals each voting place reports. Those numbers can still change.

Section 108 says the official results must be declared before 4pm on the fourth day after voting closes. For this election that is Wednesday, October 21. The winners are the candidates with the most valid votes, up to the number of seats in each race. Nobody needs a majority.

What happens between tonight and the official declaration, including recounts and ties, is in our guide to counting and results.

The City of Vancouver runs this election, and the Vancouver Charter sets its rules. If anything here disagrees with vancouver.ca, the City's page is correct.