Voter who didn't receive mail-in ballot says he was turned away at Vancouver polling station

A mail-in voting package is seen in this undated image. (City of Vancouver/Twitter)

A Vancouver resident who registered for a mail-in ballot but never received his voting package says he was turned away at the polling station on Election Day.

Sasha Torchinsky told CTV News Vancouver he applied to vote by mail weeks ago, yet his ballot never arrived. So, on Saturday morning, he went to vote in-person at Templeton Secondary School.

"They told me that I had already voted and I was off the voters list," he said.

According to the City of Vancouver's voters' guide, those who apply for a vote-by-mail package can't cast a ballot in-person because they've already been issued one assigned to their name. 

Torchinsky explained to the officials at the polling station that he never received his package, so he was directed to sign and swear an out-loud oath that he hadn't voted in the election yet.

"This, of course, was in front of a bunch of people waiting to vote, which was kind of awkward," he said.

But even after reading out the oath, Torchinsky said, a supervisory official at the polling station wouldn't accept it.

"Even though I had written down and orally spoke the oath, that wasn't taken as enough for them and so that's when I left," Torchinksy said.

Torchinsky then called 311 for advice, who directed him to Elections BC. But Elections BC offices weren't open Saturday as the agency isn't involved in administering votes for municipal elections. Eventually, Torchinsky was able to speak to someone at Vancouver's elections office.

"I told them exactly what happened and in literally 30 seconds they got my name unstruck from the voters list," he said, adding that he told the representative what happened at the Templeton voting station.

"They said they were going to launch an investigation."

In an emailed statement to CTV News Vancouver, the City of Vancouver encouraged anyone having issues with voting to call the elections office at 604-829-2010. Most polling stations in the city are open until 8 p.m. Saturday.

Torchinsky said his efforts to vote took up most of his day Saturday, but he was eventually able to cast his ballot and he advises others having issues to not give up.

"Don’t accept being turned away because if you haven't voted and you know you haven't voted, you have a right to vote. Someone can't tell you that you don't have that right to vote," he said.

"I probably should've made a fuss, but I was too embarrassed to make a fuss, to be honest. But I would say to people, 'Make a fuss and get other people involved' … It's one of our most sacred, basic rights, our ability to vote."

To follow election results, tune in to CTV News Vancouver beginning at 7 p.m. Saturday for live, commercial-free and up-to-the-minute coverage. Results will also be posted regularly online at CTVNewsVancouver.ca.