Polls are closing in B.C. at the 7 p.m. hour and we start the countdown for results here in Delta and the rest of B.C.
Polls have closed out east and so far the Liberals are leading in 72 ridings with the Conservatives leading in 36, the NDP in 11, the Bloq in nine and the Greens in one riding.
Voting in-person
It appears most ballots cast in Canada's 44th election will be in person.
According to Elections Canada, only approximately 1.3 million mail voting packages were requested by Canadians for today's federal election.
Elections Canada says during its early pandemic planning, it was estimated roughly four to five million electors would choose to vote by special ballot. They increased their capacity to handle those volumes.
In mid-August, its analysis showed between two to three million Canadians might choose to vote by special ballot, mostly by mail.
Less than one million have been returned as of today (Sept. 20), with records showing Elections Canada has only received 932,605.
The deadline to request a ballot was Sept. 14.
According to Elections Canada, in Delta there were 3,849 special voting packages requested with 3,450 of those returned.
“Given the number of local special ballots we have received, we expect most of the country's 338 ridings to report the results of their local special ballot count on Tuesday, September 21, and the vast majority to finish counting by Wednesday, September 22,” says Elections Canada. “However, due to high volumes or logistical challenges, the full count may take up to four days in some ridings.”
Keep checking back throughout the night for Delta election results.
-with files from Burnaby Now
