Close X
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
ADVT 
National

Eby wants all-party probe into B.C. vote count errors as election boss blames weather

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Nov, 2024 05:12 PM
  • Eby wants all-party probe into B.C. vote count errors as election boss blames weather

Premier David Eby is proposing an all-party committee investigate mistakes made during the British Columbia election vote tally, including an uncounted ballot box and unreported votes in three-quarters of the province's 93 ridings.

The proposal comes after B.C.'s chief electoral officer blamed extreme weather, long working hours and a new voting system for human errors behind the mistakes in last month's count, though none were large enough to change the initial results.

Anton Boegman says the agency is already investigating the mistakes to "identify key lessons learned" to improve training, change processes or make recommendations for legislative change.

He says the uncounted ballot box containing about 861 votes in Prince George-Mackenzie was never lost, and was always securely in the custody of election officials.

Boegman says a failure in five districts to properly report a small number of out-of-district votes, meanwhile, rippled through to the counts in 69 ridings.

Eby says the NDP will propose that a committee examine the systems used and steps taken by Elections BC, then recommend improvements in future elections.

"I look forward to working with all MLAs to uphold our shared commitment to free and fair elections, the foundation of our democracy," he said in a statement Tuesday, after a news conference by Boegman.

Boegman said if an independent review does occur, "Elections BC will, of course, fully participate in that process."

He said the mistakes came to light when a "discrepancy" of 14 votes was noticed in the riding of Surrey-Guildford, spurring a review that increased the number of unreported votes there to 28.

Surrey-Guildford was the closest race in the election and the NDP victory there gave Eby a one-seat majority. The discovery reduced the NDP's victory margin from 27 to 21, pending the outcome of a judicial review that was previously triggered because the race was so close.

The mistakes in Surrey-Guildford resulted in a provincewide audit that found the other errors, Boegman said.

"These mistakes were a result of human error. Our elections rely on the work of over 17,000 election officials from communities across the province," he said.

"Election officials were working 14 hours or more on voting days and on final voting day in particular faced extremely challenging weather conditions in many parts of the province.

"These conditions likely contributed to these mistakes," he said. 

B.C.'s "vote anywhere" model also played a role in the errors, said Boegman, who said he had issued an order to correct the results in the affected ridings.

Boegman said the uncounted Prince George-Mackenzie ballot box was used on the first day of advance voting. Election officials later discovered a vote hadn't been tabulated, so they retabulated the ballots but mistakenly omitted the box of first-day votes, only including ballots from the second day. 

Boegman said the issues discovered in the provincewide audit will be "fully documented" in his report to the legislature on the provincial election, the first held using electronic tabulators.

He said he was confident election officials found all "anomalies."

B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Rustad had said on Monday that the errors were "an unprecedented failure by the very institution responsible for ensuring the fairness and accuracy of our elections."

Rustad said he was not disputing the outcomes as judicial recounts continue, but said "it’s clear that mistakes like these severely undermine public trust in our electoral process."

Rustad called for an "independent review" to make sure the errors never happen again. 

Boegman, who said the election required fewer than half the number of workers under the old paper-based system, said results for the election would be returned in 90 of the province's 93 ridings on Tuesday.

Full judicial recounts will be held in Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna-Centre, while a partial recount of the uncounted box will take place in Prince George-Mackenzie.

Boegman said out-of-district voting had been a part of B.C.'s elections for many decades, and explained how thousands of voters utilized the province's vote-by-phone system, calling it a "very secure model" for people with disabilities. 

"I think this is a unique and very important part of our elections, providing accessibility to British Columbians," he said. "They have unparalleled access to the ballot box that is not found in other jurisdictions in Canada."

MORE National ARTICLES

Weather warnings issued as atmospheric river approaches B.C. coast

Weather warnings issued as atmospheric river approaches B.C. coast
Environment Canada has issued several rainfall warnings for British Columbia, covering much of Vancouver Island and the coastal regions as the first atmospheric river of the season approaches. It says heavy rain is expected to reach inland sections of the central coast that will intensify throughout the day before peaking this afternoon, bringing up to 70 millimetres.

Weather warnings issued as atmospheric river approaches B.C. coast

Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal

Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal
The companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — filed a proposed plan of arrangement in an Ontario court today after more than five years of negotiations with their creditors. The companies sought creditor protection in Ontario in early 2019 after they lost an appeal in a landmark court battle in Quebec.

Tobacco giants would pay out $32.5 billion to provinces, smokers in proposed deal

14 arrested in Whalley's drug trade

14 arrested in Whalley's drug trade
Police in Surrey say they have arrested 14 people in an enforcement operation targeting an open drug trade in the city’s Whalley area. Mounties say the operation took place on October 3rd, and also resulted in the seizure of 16 weapons, including a pellet gun, brass knuckles, batons, bear spray and knives.

14 arrested in Whalley's drug trade

Trudeau says death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar 'ends a reign of terror'

Trudeau says death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar 'ends a reign of terror'
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Israel's killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Gaza Strip "ends a reign of terror." The Israeli military declared today that it had killed Sinwar during a Wednesday battle and confirmed his death with a DNA test.

Trudeau says death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar 'ends a reign of terror'

Former Canadian Olympic athlete wanted in U.S. for murder, drug charges

Former Canadian Olympic athlete wanted in U.S. for murder, drug charges
Ryan James Wedding is one of 16 defendants named in an indictment filed in California, which details an operation that allegedly moved large shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada and other locations in the United States. U.S. authorities say the 43-year-old Wedding, who was living in Mexico, is considered a fugitive. 

Former Canadian Olympic athlete wanted in U.S. for murder, drug charges

Suspected MDMA seizure by Delta Police

Suspected MDMA seizure by Delta Police
Police in Delta say officers seized about 87 kilograms of suspected M-D-M-A during a traffic stop in the city. They say occupants of the vehicle were arrested but have been released pending further investigation.

Suspected MDMA seizure by Delta Police