Election cards

By Dori Modney

Advance and ‘postal’ votes could be crucial in tight federal election

Sep 15, 2021 | 9:05 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — If advance polling is any indication, there is substantial interest in the September 20 federal election, even though most people didn’t want an election in the first place.

Information released by Elections Canada on Wednesday (Sept 15) morning, show preliminary figures indicate 5,780,000 Canadians marked a ballot in the advance polls, held between Friday, September 10 and Monday, September 13. That number of advance ballots is an 18.5 per cent increase over advance polls for the 2019 general election.

Some of the advance polls for the 338 electoral districts may not have reported yet, so the full count of advance polls is still being calculated, with the full breakdown to be issued shortly.

As well, people voting by mail could play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the Sept. 20 federal election.

Ballots cast by mail may delay the election’s final outcome, as election officials won’t begin counting local postal votes until the morning after election day. The delayed result could impact a possible ‘nail-biting’ finish in what is already a very tight race.

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Postal votes may dictate which party wins in a series of closely fought ridings where a small number of votes could decide the outcome.

Election officials confirm almost a million (914,000) electors across Canada applied for mail-in ballots by the deadline and more than 500,000 have already been returned them.