The City of Victoria is sharing the reason for a mail-in ballot mix-up, which could see thousands of votes cast after the civic election deadline. On Wednesday, Victoria’s chief election officer said the city learned the delivery of 62 per cent of its mail-in ballot packages had been delayed. Some 3,700 voters requested mail-in ballots. Last Friday, the city discovered 2,300 of those ballots had been sitting in a Canada Post warehouse for up to five business days. “There’s a lot of individuals who request mail ballots. Usually those are individuals who experience difficulties making it to the polls,” chief election officer Curt Kingsley told reporters on Wednesday. “The timing is very, very problematic.” Election day is Saturday. Even if people get their ballots before then, Kingsley said it’s likely too late for voters to get them mailed back to the city before the 8 p.m. deadline on Saturday. He’s encouraging people to return their ballots to the secure drop box at the city hall entrance on Pandora Avenue. People can also vote in person on election day or at the advanced poll at Crystal Garden, which concludes Thursday at 8 p.m. More details about how to vote, including accessible options, can be found here. So what happened? The delivery delay comes down to a misunderstanding between the city and Canada Post. “The city has been receiving increasing complaints from voters about not receiving their mail ballot packages, so on Oct. 8, we contacted Canada Post to investigate,” Kingsley said. When Canada Post responded, Kingsley said his team was told they failed to fill out a form required for delivery. “They never at any point had ever contacted us indicating that they needed that form,” he said, noting hundreds of ballots were delivered before the form was signed. “We followed the same procedure that … we had in the Crystal Pool referendum in 2025 and in past local government elections.” Canada Post said it received the packages from the city last week and in late September. “The mailing service they used for this large volume mailing required they submit documentation. While there were complications, it was sorted out and the mail is being delivered,” Canada Post spokesperson Phil Legault said in a statement. “We regret the misunderstanding for the requirements of this service.” CTV News asked the municipalities of Saanich and Esquimalt if they’ve been affected by delivery delays. Both said things are running smoothly, though Esquimalt noted two of the 275 people who requested mail-in ballots reported they haven’t received them. Ron Demedash is one of those voters. He has severe mobility issues, and worries many of the affected voters in Victoria do too. “I have no way for myself to get to a polling station short of going on a stretcher,” Demedash said in an interview with CTV News. He wishes he could appoint a proxy voter, who could cast a ballot in person on his behalf. “(Voting) is very important to me,” he said. “It’s one of the few things that I can do in deciding what’s going on in the future.” Those who worry they won’t be able to submit their ballot are encouraged to contact their municipality’s elections team. Could the election be challenged? Kingsley wouldn’t speculate about whether the mix-up could lead to challenges about Victoria’s election results. After results are declared, candidates and other parties can apply to the Supreme Court of B.C. for a judicial recount or to dispute the validity of an election. As for whether Victoria’s election could be postponed to give people more time to mail their ballots? “It’s not possible,” Kingsley said. “The dates, including the deadlines for receiving the mail ballots, are in legislation.” The city said 2,685 ballots were cast by mail in the 2022 election.
