Elections

2018 Elections
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The 2018 General Local Election will be held on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at the Sonora Community Centre from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Two Advance Voting opportunities will be held at the Town of Osoyoos Council Chamber on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 and Wednesday, October 17, 2018 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

Prior to the 2014 General Local Elections, the Province  passed new legislation that made several changes to the Local Government Elections.  The two most significant changes are that the terms for all positions will be 4 years and the Campaign Financing Reporting will now be done through Elections BC.

Osoyoos will be seeking candidates for one position of Mayor, 4 positions of Councillor, and 2 positions of Water Councillor all for four year terms.

Nomination period begins at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, September 4, 2018 and ends at 4:00 PM on Friday, September 14, 2018.  Eligibility for being nominated for and holding office of Mayor or Councillor can be found on the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing website (see link below).  Eligibility for holding office of Water Councillor is similar with the exception that the candidate must be a user of and resident of either Osoyoos Rural Water District Systems 8 or 9.  Nomination documents are available at the Town Hall Office starting Friday, July 27, 2018.

The Town will be holding an Candidate Information Session for prospective candidates on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 6:30 PM at the Sonora Community Centre.  If you are considering running as a candidate and want more information regarding expectations of the positions, please consider attending this session.

Although voting proceedings for both the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (Area “A”) Director and School District No. 53 School Trustees (for Osoyoos) are held in conjunction with the Town voting, at the same times and same places, the RDOS and the School District run their own elections and questions regarding their candidates or becoming one of their candidates, or general questions on their specific election should be made directly to them at the following:
RDOS  www.rdos.bc.ca
School District 53  www.sd53.bc.ca

This page will be updated as information is received throughout the election process.  This information will include the list of candidates running for positions or those acclaimed to positions as well as other important information regarding the election or voting.

The Town’s election is conducted under the legislation provided through the Province of British Columbia. For more information on the legislation, proceedings or voter’s guide in various languages, please go to:  https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/local-governments/governance-powers/general-local-elections

The Town of Osoyoos uses electronic voting machines.  Voting for candidates is still done by hand, on specially prepared ballots, but the vote counting is done electronically.  Manual counts of each and every vote are no longer required, which means the vote tally can be calculated within minutes of the final voter casting his or her ballot.  Unofficial election results are usually available within an hour of the close of polls.  The paper ballots are still retained in the event that a recount, whether electronic or manual, is required.