Here's where voters are getting mail-in ballots on Vancouver Island

VICTORIA -- More than 158,000 voters on Vancouver Island have requested a mail-in ballot for this year’s provincial election, according to Elections BC.

Across B.C., some 680,309 voters have decided to vote by mail as of Oct. 13, far dwarfing any previous record held by the province. In the 2017 provincial election, just 6,517 British Columbians voted by mail.

On Vancouver Island, a total of 158,680 residents have requested a vote-by-mail package, representing approximately 26.68 per cent of all eligible voters on the island.

The highest proportion of mail-in voters is found in the Victoria-Beacon Hill riding, where 17,468 people have decided to vote by mail, representing 35.81 per cent of all eligible voters in the region.

The next highest proportion is found in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, where a close 35.56 per cent of voters have decided to cast their ballot through the mail system, totalling 15,073 residents.

With an unprecedented number of British Columbians deciding to vote by mail this year, Elections BC says the deadline to return mail-in ballots is Saturday, Oct. 17.

If a mail-in ballot is not submitted by then, the ballot must be dropped off at a polling site on an advance voting day, on general election day or at a designated drop-off location. Designated drop-off locations include district electoral offices and some Service BC locations, depending on your region.

Elections BC says that anyone who requested a vote-by-mail package this week may not receive their ballot until after Saturday, Oct. 17. If this is the case, you must drop it off at one of the locations listed above.

As of Tuesday, approximately 138,500 vote-by-mail packages had been returned to Elections BC, or approximately 21 per cent of all mail-in ballots that were requested.

A list of how many people requested a mail-in-ballot on Vancouver Island, plus how many eligible voters are in each riding, can be found below:

• Courtenay-Comox: 11,707 mail-in-packages requested out of 46,806 eligible voters.

• Cowichan Valley: 10,244 mail-in-packages requested out of 48,879 eligible voters.

• Esquimalt-Metchosin: 11,667 mail-in-packages requested out of 41,312 eligible voters.

• Langford-Juan de Fuca: 11,608 mail-in-packages requested out of 47,552 eligible voters.

• Mid Island-Pacific Rim: 7,120 mail-in-packages requested out of 44,869 eligible voters.

• Nanaimo: 11,082 mail-in-packages requested out of 47,798 eligible voters.

• North Island: 7,606 mail-in-packages requested out of 45,121 eligible voters.

• Oak Bay-Gordon Head: 15,073 mail-in-packages requested out of 42,385 eligible voters.

• Parksville-Qualicum: 13,587 mail-in-packages requested out of 48,396 eligible voters.

• Saanich North and the Islands: 15,512 mail-in-packages requested out of 50,488 eligible voters.

• Saanich South: 13,704 mail-in-packages requested out of 41,697 eligible voters.

• Victoria-Beacon Hill: 17,468 mail-in-packages requested out of 48,772 eligible voters.

• Victoria-Swan Lake: 12,302 mail-in-packages requested out of 40,590 eligible voters.