The polls are now closed in BC's provincial election
The polls have closed in a British Columbia election that has largely been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Democrat Leader John Horgan called the election on September 21, one year ahead of the scheduled date.
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The BC Liberals and the Greens criticized the decision to hold an election during the pandemic, arguing it was a bid for power when the focus should be on public health and the economy.
Due to the number of mail-in ballots, Elections BC says the winning party may not be known for two weeks when the mailed ballots are counted.
Elections BC says nearly half a million mail-in ballots have been returned as people tried to avoid going to the polls to vote in BC’s election during the pandemic.
It says 724,279 vote-by-mail packages were requested, with nearly 498,000 returned as of Friday night. Voters had until the polls close today to return the mail-in ballots. There are nearly 3.5 million registered voters in British Columbia