Advance voting in Nova Scotia lags 2021 numbers 

The number of Nova Scotians taking advantage of early voting opportunities is down compared to 2021, with only one day left in the provincial general election. 

Elections Nova Scotia has so far recorded 147,183 people having cast early votes in the election, which accounts for 18.7 per cent of the registered voter population. 

This can be contrasted with early voting numbers for the 2021 provincial election in Nova Scotia, in which 166,403 people voted prior to election day. That turnout represented 21.7 per cent of eligible voters. 

Other provinces that held general elections earlier this fall experienced higher numbers for advance voter turnout. British Columbia’s general provincial election, which was held Oct. 19, had 28.2 per cent of registered voters cast ballots before election day. In the same month, the general election in Saskatchewan had 33.7 per cent of registered voters make use of early voting opportunities. 

Nova Scotia advance polls opened on Saturday, Nov. 16 and closed the following Saturday, Nov. 23. Voters can still submit a write-in ballot or vote at a returning office until the end of the election on Tuesday. 

Barriers to voting 

In late October, Elections Nova Scotia opted not to mail voter information cards, citing the prospect of a labour disruption at Canada Post. 

Voter information cards have, in previous elections, informed registered voters about which polling station they must vote at on election day, as well as how they can vote at advance polls.  

The postal strike has also raised barriers to voting by write-in ballot. 

Elections Nova Scotia advised those opting to vote by write-in ballot to use a means other than mail to submit their ballots. These options include bringing the ballot to a local returning office or contacting a local returning office to have a write-in ballot team retrieve the ballot directly from the home. 

Those voting from outside the province have more limited options, though Elections Nova Scotia states fax and email are both valid means of sending in write-in ballots. 

Data from Elections Nova Scotia shows that as of Sunday, 5,567 applications for write-in ballots have been processed, which is 42.8 per cent fewer than was processed on the same day in the 2021 election cycle. 

Liberals cite snap election as a factor 

Liberal party leader Zach Churchill said at a news conference on Thursday that low voter turnout was a likely outcome of the Progressive Conservative government having called a snap election.  

According to Churchill, early elections tend “to benefit the incumbent government.” 

“People didn’t expect this (election) to happen,” said Churchill. “There was no need for it, and it was called two days after we knew a postal strike was going to happen. So, Nova Scotians aren’t even getting their voter cards, which for the vast majority of Nova Scotians, is their invitation to participate in the democratic process.” 

Elections Nova Scotia says it has been expanding the number of early voting opportunities in the province since 1960. However, its own data from 2021 shows voter turnout has been on the decline since 1993. 

Voters can still vote at the returning office in their electoral district on Monday, Nov. 25. 

On election day, Tuesday, Nov. 26, voters can vote at their assigned voting location or the returning office in their electoral district. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.