Election Day Update from Kaslo BC - 5 PM

Well, its 5 pm and I’ve been to the polls. Here’s what I know.

Of the 1,000 plus voters eligible to vote in the three polls at Kaslo, BC , about half had cast their ballots as of 4 pm. It is difficult to say whether or not this is a high turnout. Elections Canada officials at the polling place, in the local Legion Hall, did say they expected a heavier turnout once people came home from work and their kids get out of school.

While attending the polls, for about a 20 minute period, I did notice a steadily growing stream of voters. When I left, there were about 100 people in and around the polling place, and traffic in the area was beginning to thicken.

From my home, on the mountainside above the town, I can see the downtown area. There seems to be a lot more traffic than usual down there for this time of day.

Some interesting things I noticed:

More than two out of three persons in the polling area were women.

The only scrutineers present were from the NDP.

Large numbers of people were accompanied by their children.

Several people mentioned to me that they were still undecided walking through the door with their Elections Canada cards in hand!

There was distinct sense of excitement and joviality at the poll. People were upbeat, laughing and joking.

Only a few people were willing to openly discuss who they were voting for. One person said he was voting “NDGreen”.

If I were to base a prediction on the polls here in Kaslo I’d have to call a moderately high turnout with the majority clearly going to the NDP. I’d temper that by saying the Greens are going to do extremely well in this area.

More later. I’m going to tune into some of our local media and let you know in a while what I’m hearing.