Voting in this year's civic election should be a lot easier than three years ago.
The Burnaby election office has switched to a centralized system, which will allow residents to vote at any location in the city.
"I think it'll be a huge bonus to people. We've had complaints in the past that if someone moved, they still had to go to that specific location they were assigned," said chief election officer Lynne Axford. "It was very frustrating for some."
How it works is simple. Every voter card has a barcode that can be scanned at any of the 35 polling stations.
"This also makes it easier for those working at the desk. They're not looking up names in big books and crossing them off with a ruler," she said.
The election office has also ramped up its online efforts, creating a user-friendly page on the city's website. The FAQ section has been translated into four different languages and there's even a 60-second YouTube video explaining the ABCs of voting.
"We really wanted to make it a fun process for everyone, one that appealed to youth as well," Axford told the NOW.
Also new this year is a voter guide that will be mailed to all 94,000 households in the last week of October. Candidate profiles are some of the nuggets included in the brochure.
"It's really about educating the public of where they can vote and who's running for office. Theses are some of the things we received feedback about after the last election," she said.
Axford, who has been involved in Burnaby's municipal election in some way or another since 2005, said spreading the word about it has come a long way over the years.
"Back then, we only did the minimal amount of advertising required. In 2011, it was the first time we did a pamphlet, with little social media. Today, we've introduced this guide and pocket cards to compliment everything else. We're definitely out there."
Twenty-thousand pocket cards, which are slightly bigger than a business card, have been distributed to the Burnaby Public Library. The need-to-know info has been printed on them and will be given to readers when they sign out a book.
In term's of staffing, the local office has hired 335 people to work the polls. That figure is slightly down when compared to 2011, but Axford credits that to the streamlined process now in place.
Only 23 per cent of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2011 election. Axford hopes her team's hard work pays off by seeing that number change. "My goal here is to really make it an easy and positive experience."
Registered voters will receive their voter card, voter guide and InfoBurnaby brochure by the end of the month. Non-registered voters will also be mailed a copy of InfoBurnaby and the voter guide.
Advanced voting will take place Nov. 1, 5 and 8. Locations include three malls and two park facilities.
For more information, visit burnaby.ca.
