Update: Final few hours of voting; ‘steady’ turnout

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Morrison said the voter flow today has been helped by the fact that 20 per cent of registered voters cast ballots in the advance polls, which works out to over 20,000 people in the North Okanagan Shuswap.

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Update 3:45 p.m.

Vernon Matters has done a tour of several of the main polling stations in Vernon.

Reporter Tiffany Goodwein says the Vernon Rec Centre is ‘steady,’ with lots of people coming to vote, but no lines at that point.

At the Schubert Centre, a polling station worker says today has not been as busy as the advanced polls, and things are going very smoothly. People who voted say the process took them anywhere from one to five minutes.

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Original story

After weeks of hearing the candidates talk, it’s now time for voters to have their say.

Canada’s 43rd general election is taking place today with the polls in B.C. open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Voters in the North Okanagan Shuswap riding have five candidates to choose from including one term incumbent Mel Arnold of the Conservatives, Kyle Delfing of the People’s Party, Cindy Derkaz of the Liberals, Marc Reinarz of the Green Party and Harwinder Sandhu of the NDP.

Derkaz is making her second attempt to become the riding’s MP after finishing second to Arnold in 2015 with 29 per cent of the vote, compared to 39 per cent for Arnold.

The website 338Canada is projecting the riding will “likely remain Conservative,” which would not be a surprise to pundits, given that right-of-centre parties (Reform, Alliance and Conservative) have held the riding since 1993.

Nationally, it’s expected to be a close race to see which party forms the next government, with predictions of a minority Liberal or Conservative government.

The New Democrats, under leader Jagmeet Singh, have been surging in recent weeks, and will also be a factor in the outcome.

As for voters, local returning officer Sharon Morrison says when you go to vote, the most important thing to have is bring identification with a residential address.

“It can be an official government-issued piece of ID with your residential address (such as a driver’s licence), and then you only need one piece of ID. If you only have a non-government issued piece of ID, then you need to have two things, both with your name on them, one with the address,” Morrison told Vernon Matters.

Morrison says people should also bring their voting ID (VID) card that came in the mail, as it will help the staff at the polling station determine where they go.

“The other thing people need to know is they have to be in the building where they are registered to vote, so that’s why the VID cards are good because they do tell what building to go to,” Morrison added.

There are a number of voting stations in Greater Vernon, including Vernon Secondary School, Clarence Fulton Secondary, the Recreation Centre, Paddlewheel Park Hall, the Schubert Centre, Kalamalka Secondary, Coldsteam Elementary, Lavington Elementary, BX Elementary and others.

“Everybody gets a rental fee from Elections Canada, so we try to go to a lot of non-profits and schools so then they can use that money for good things” Morrison said.

For the first time, Predator Ridge will have its own voting station at the Station 3 Fire Hall.

Any voting related-questions can be directed at the local Elections Canada office by calling 1-866-546 -7604 (toll free).

Vernon Matters will have coverage of the election results on our website and social media platforms, while 107.5 Beach Radio will have election updates starting at 7 p.m.