Federal and provincial elections get way more attention and a higher voter turnout compared to municipal elections, so no one’s judging if you don’t know some of these things.

How local elections work differently

Elections BC administers and oversees the process for provincial elections and the bipartisan organization also plays a role in municipal elections. It oversees advertising and campaign financing but the actual voting process is up to local governments.

Voters in Kelowna and Kamloops are electing a mayor and eight councillors, while voters in Penticton and Vernon are electing a mayor and six councillors. Cities with 50,000 residents or fewer only get six councillors while larger cities get eight.

Voters can vote for fewer council candidates than are on the ballot. In other words you can vote for the candidates you like, you don’t have to vote for candidates you don’t know to mark all the circles available.

Where to find candidate information

Kelowna, Kamloops, Penticton and Vernon have candidate lists available online.

Kelowna has included links to candidate websites and social media, which is helpful because there are 46 people running.

Some mayoral candidates have websites like Tom Dyas and Ron Cannan in Kelowna, Reid Hamer-Jackson and Nelly Dever in Kamloops, and Victor Cumming and Kari Gares in Vernon. Penticton’s mayoral candidates don’t have websites as of yet.

West Kelowna’s new mayor Stephen Johnston didn’t have any challengers so he’s in charge without being on the ballot, but the race for city council seats is still on.

There aren’t many slates of candidates but Penticton voters can see the collective platform for the Penticton Together slate online.

How to find out if you’re eligible to vote

Any Canadian citizen aged 18 or older who is a resident of B.C. is eligible to vote. Voters can either live in the municipality they are voting in or be the registered property owner where they intend to vote, but they can only vote in one place. They can either vote in the city they live in or another city if they personally own property there.

Voters living on First Nations reserves are also eligible to vote and the provincial government has a guide for voters living on a reserve.

Some jurisdictions use the provincial voters list so if you voted in the provincial election you’ll already be registered to vote locally. Kelowna and Penticton use the provincial voters list, but Vernon and Kamloops use same-day registration so all voters need to bring ID to their polling place.

Where to vote

Residents who are out of town on election day, Saturday, Oct. 17, can vote with a mail-in ballot. Voters who want to use a mail-in ballot need to request one from their city.

Advance voting

There are two advance voting days in Vernon. On Oct. 7 voters can go to the Schubert Centre and on Oct. 14 voters can go down to City Hall.

There are five advance voting days in Kelowna.

On Oct. 7 and 16, voters can go to Parkinson Recreation Centre or MNP Place. On Oct. 10, voters can go to Parkinson Recreation Centre, MNP Place, North Glenmore Elementary and Rutland Elementary. On Oct. 14, voters can go to Parkinson Recreation Centre, Black Box Theatre, Okanagan College or the UBC Okanagan campus. On Oct. 15, voters can go to Parkinson Recreation Centre.

Penticton has three advance voting days. On Oct. 7 voters can go to the Penticton Community Centre Gymnasium, on Oct. 10 voters can go to Skaha Lake Elementary School and on Oct. 14 voters can go to the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.

Kamloops has advance voting on Oct. 7, 10 and 14 at Heritage House and McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.

Kelowna voting places on election day: