Victoria ballot delays stem from misunderstanding with Canada Post, election officer says

Victoria is explaining a mail-in ballot delivery mix-up that could leave thousands of votes arriving after the civic election deadline. Chief election officer Curt Kingsley said Wednesday the city learned that delivery of 62 per cent of its mail-in ballot packages had been delayed. About 3,700 voters requested mail-in ballots. Last Friday, the city found that 2,300 of those ballots had been sitting in a Canada Post warehouse for up to five business days.

Kingsley said many people who request mail ballots usually have difficulty getting to the polls, and called the timing “very, very problematic.” Election day is Saturday. Even if voters receive their ballots before then, he said, they are likely to have too little time to mail them back before the 8 p.m. deadline that day. He is encouraging voters to use the secure drop box at the city hall entrance on Pandora Avenue. They can also vote in person on election day or at the advance poll at Crystal Garden, which closes Thursday at 8 p.m. Details on voting, including accessible options, are available at https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/vancouver-island/article/victoria-voters-urged-to-vote-in-person-amid-canada-post-ballot-delays/.

Kingsley attributed the delay to a misunderstanding between the city and Canada Post. After receiving growing numbers of complaints from voters who had not received their ballot packages, the city contacted Canada Post on Oct. 8 to investigate. Kingsley said Canada Post told his team the city had failed to complete a form required for delivery. He said Canada Post had never contacted the city to say the form was needed, and hundreds of ballots were delivered before it was signed. The city followed the same procedure it had used for the Crystal Pool referendum in 2025 and previous local government elections. The referendum is described at https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/victoria-residents-vote-yes-to-building-new-crystal-pool/.

Canada Post said it received the packages from the city last week and in late September. Spokesperson Phil Legault said in a statement that the mailing service used for the large-volume delivery required documentation. He said there were complications, but the issue had been sorted out and the mail was being delivered. Canada Post said it regretted the misunderstanding about the service requirements.

CTV News asked Saanich and Esquimalt whether they had also experienced delivery delays. Both said things were running smoothly, although Esquimalt said two of the 275 people who requested mail-in ballots had reported not receiving them.

Ron Demedash is one of those Esquimalt voters. He has severe mobility issues and worries many of the affected Victoria voters may face similar barriers. “I have no way for myself to get to a polling station short of going on a stretcher,” he told CTV News. He wishes he could appoint a proxy voter to cast a ballot in person on his behalf. Voting is “very important” to him, he said, and is one of the few things he can do to help decide what happens in the future. People concerned they will not be able to submit their ballot are encouraged to contact their municipality’s elections team.

Kingsley would not speculate on whether the mix-up could lead to challenges to Victoria’s election results. After results are declared, candidates and other parties can apply to the Supreme Court of British Columbia for a judicial recount or to dispute the validity of an election.

Asked whether Victoria’s election could be postponed to give people more time to mail their ballots, Kingsley said that was not possible because legislation sets the election dates, including the deadline for receiving mail ballots. The city said 2,685 ballots were cast by mail in the 2022 election.