Vancouver sets another advance voting record as turnout reaches over 25,000 | Daily Hive

City of Vancouver sets another advance voting record as turnout reaches over 25,000 on second day

City of Vancouver civic election voting place sign, October 2026. (Margarita Young/Shutterstock)

The City of Vancouver has broken its civic election advance voting record for the second time in less than a week, with approximately 25,142 people casting their ballots on the second day of advance voting on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.

According to the City’s preliminary figures, Oct. 7 marked the highest single-day advance voting turnout on record, surpassing the previous all-time record of 21,824 on Oct. 3 — the first day of advance voting in this year’s civic election — by about 15 per cent.

It represents a 139 per cent increase over the 10,502 people who participated on the second advance voting day in the 2022 civic election.

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Combined, the two preliminary daily counts put turnout — based entirely on advance voting so far — at approximately 46,966 people so far.

That figure represents about 27 per cent of the 171,494 ballots cast in the entire 2022 civic election across advance voting, general voting day, and mail-in voting. After just two days, this year’s advance voting turnout has already reached 72 per cent of the record 65,127 ballots cast over all five advance voting days in 2022.

On Oct. 1, the City said mail-in ballot requests had surpassed 18,000 — more than 70 per cent above the 10,523 packages requested for the entire 2022 civic election. Some deadlines to request mail-in ballots have now passed.

Despite the increased participation, the City said wait times for advance voting on Oct. 7 remained low, noting that this year’s civic election offers more voting locations, larger spaces, and additional technology to process voters. Following the long queues for the April 2025 byelection, the City’s budget for operating this civic election is $9.4 million, which is more than double the budget for the 2022 civic election.

Advance voting in this 2026 civic election is available at 59 locations — drastically up from 22 locations in the 2022 civic election. This is likely one of the major driving factors for the increased turnout to date.

Two advance voting days now remain: Saturday, Oct. 10, and Tuesday, Oct. 13. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

General voting day for this civic election is Saturday, Oct. 17, also from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. On that day, for the final opportunity to vote, the number of voting places will be further expanded to 85 locations.

Full guide on how to vote in the City of Vancouver’s October 2026 civic election

In Vancouver’s civic election, voters will choose a mayor, city councillors, Vancouver Park Board commissioners, and Vancouver School Board trustees, as well as answer questions for two separate plebiscites.

They will also vote on capital plan plebiscite borrowing questions to fund new and upgraded facilities and infrastructure. A separate non-binding public safety plebiscite will seek their views on public hard-drug use and a proposed secure medical treatment facility for people with mental health and addiction issues.

During advance voting days and general voting day, Vancouver voters can use any voting location in the city; polling locations are not limited to the neighbourhood where a resident lives.

For more information on Vancouver’s civic election — when and where to vote, voter eligibility, required identification, and mail-in voting — click here.

Just one week after general voting day for the civic election, on Saturday, Oct. 24, voters across B.C. will return to the polls for the snap provincial general election to choose an MLA to represent their riding. Advance voting in the provincial general election will begin on Friday, Oct. 16.

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