If you’re reading this, you’ve found The Wren’s 2022 voting guide. The Kamloops municipal election is coming up quickly and we’d like to help make it easier to exercise your right to vote. Below you’ll find all the information needed to cast your ballot for races in Kamloops (Tk̓emlúps).
Where, when and how do I cast my ballot?
If you’d like to vote on general voting day, you must go to a voting location between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Upon arrival, you’ll need to present the registration clerk with two pieces of identification. At least one must have your signature, while the other must have your current address. For further information on which kinds of identification are accepted, please visit kamloops.ca.
The following voting locations will be open on Oct. 15:
- Aberdeen Elementary School, 2191 Van Horne Dr.
- Arthur Hatton Elementary School, 315 Chestnut Ave.
- Arthur Stevenson Elementary School, 2890 Bank Rd.
- Beattie Elementary School, 492 McGill Rd.
- Brocklehurst Middle School, 985 Windbreak S.
- Dallas Elementary School, 296 Harper Rd.
- Dufferin Elementary School, 1880 Hillside Dr.
- Heritage House (Riverside Park), 100 Lorne St.
- Juniper Ridge Elementary School, 2540 Qu’Appelle Blvd.
- Lloyd George Elementary School, 830 Pine St.
- NorKam Secondary School, 730 12th St.
- R. L. Clemitson Elementary School, 5990 Todd Rd.
- Rayleigh Elementary School, 306 Puett Ranch Rd.
- South Sahali Elementary School, 1585 Summit Dr.
- Valleyview Secondary School, 1950 Valleyview Dr.
- Westmount Elementary School, 745 Walkem Rd.
If you can’t make it to a voting location on general voting day, you may vote ahead of time at designated locations on advance voting days from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting days are Oct. 5, 8 and 12.
The following voting locations will be open on Oct. 5, 8 and 12:
- Heritage House (Riverside Park), 100 Lorne St.
- McArthur Island Sports Centre Lounge, 1667 Island Pkwy.
If you’d like, you may also vote by mail, although you must complete and submit a vote-by-mail form to the chief election officer no later than 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14. Mail ballots are no longer being mailed out to voters as of Oct. 2, so you must pick up your ballot at City Hall. Your ballot must be returned to the chief election officer by 8 p.m. on general voting day (Oct. 15), or it will not be counted. For more information on how to submit your ballot by mail, please visit kamloops.ca.
Am I eligible to vote in the Kamloops municipal election?
To cast your ballot in the upcoming Kamloops municipal election, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be a Canadian citizen;
- You must be 18 years old or older on general voting day;
- You must have lived in B.C. for at least six months;
- And you must not be disqualified from voting by law.
If you have owned property in Kamloops (Tk̓emlúps) in your name for at least thirty days by general voting day but live elsewhere in B.C., you can also vote in the upcoming Kamloops municipal election as a “non-resident property elector.” Non-resident property electors can vote only once, even if you own multiple properties in Kamloops (Tk̓emlúps).
How does voting work?
At the voting booth on general voting day, make sure to follow the instructions printed on your ballot. Special pens will be provided, and you are asked to use them when marking your choices.
Once you’ve completed your ballot, walk it over to one of the electronic voting machines and feed it in. There will be plenty of people there to help you if you encounter any difficulties. For more information on voting, the voting machines, or getting help on general voting day, please visit kamloops.ca.
Who are the 2022 candidates?
The following candidates are running for mayor:
The City of Kamloops has eight elected councillors. The following candidates are running for councillor:
- Jamie Allen
- Dale Bass
- Nancy Bepple
- Bonnie Cleland
- George Dersch
- Dennis Giesbrecht
- Mac Gordon
- Kelly Hall
- Stephen Karpuk
- Caroline F. King
- Francois Lambert
- Darrell LaRiviere
- Margot Middleton
- Daphane Nelson
- Katie Neustaeter
- Mike O’Reilly
- Jordan Proctor
- Jesse Ritcey
- Reo Rocheleau
- Taj Sandur
- Bill Sarai
- Darpan Sharma
- Randy Sunderman
For more information on the mayor and city council candidates listed above, visit CivicInfoBC.
The Kamloops-Thompson school district (SD73) has a total of nine trustees positions with four rural positions already acclaimed. Electors will vote for five of the following 10 candidates:
- Marian Anderberg
- Shahriar Behmanesh
- Heather Grieve
- Cole Hickson
- Jimmy Johal
- Jo Kang
- Kathleen M. Karpuk
- John O’Fee
- Karla Pearce
- Jennifer Rowse
The candidates in other electoral areas of the school district — North Thompson (Shelley Sim), Barriere-Little Fort (Rhonda Kershaw), Chase (Diane Jules) and Logan Lake (Cara McKelvey) — ran unopposed and were elected by acclamation once the nomination period ended.
For more information on the school trustee candidates listed above, visit CivicInfoBC.
Editor’s Note Oct. 4, 2022: This guide was updated to clarify that the total number of school trustees is nine and four rural trustees are already acclaimed.
