Close X
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Rustad seeks review as Elections BC says box of 861 votes went uncounted

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Nov, 2024 05:26 PM
  • Rustad seeks review as Elections BC says box of 861 votes went uncounted

British Columbia's election agency says it has discovered that a ballot box containing 861 votes wasn't counted in the recent provincial election, as well as other mistakes, including 14 votes going unreported in a crucial riding narrowly won by the NDP.

The errors prompted B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad to call for an independent review on Monday.

Elections BC said in a statement that the omission of the ballot box did not affect the result in Prince George-Mackenzie, the electoral district where the box was found. 

It said the unreported votes in Surrey-Guildford were discovered last week during preparations for a judicial recount in the riding, where Garry Begg's 27-vote victory propelled the New Democrats to a one-seat majority government.

B.C.'s chief electoral officer, Anton Boegman, said in the statement that the discovery of the "anomaly" in the Surrey-Guildford count triggered a provincewide review.

"Our elections rely on the work of over 17,000 election officials from communities across the province. Unfortunately, unintentional human errors do occur in administering the vote," he said.

The review, which started last Wednesday and ended Sunday, identified what the statement described as "data entry omissions" that resulted in mistakes impacting "a small number of votes" in 69 of the province's 93 ridings.

It said the omissions "comprise only 0.05 per cent of total votes in those districts."

The mistake resulted in 14 votes for Surrey-Guildford not being counted, it said. 

The recounts in the province's Supreme Court for that riding and Kelowna Centre are scheduled to take place on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.

In British Columbia, voters can cast a ballot for their riding at polling stations across the province.

The statement said election officials in six ridings erred by not reporting out-of-district results that had been recorded on 11 tabulator tapes.

The statement said the number of unreported votes in each district did not affect the outcome in any of them, pending judicial recounts in the two ridings that had been triggered by their narrow margins.

Boegman said the errors were disclosed to the judges and parties involved in the recounts and added that election officials "were continuing our review to ensure that any additional omissions were identified."

The statement said a recount of the ballot box in Prince George-Mackenzie, a riding easily won by B.C. Conservative Kiel Giddens, had been requested.

It did not explain how the ballot box was missed on the election day count.

Elections BC did not immediately respond to a request for more details.

Pending the judicial recounts, Premier David Eby's NDP have 47 seats in the legislature, the slimmest possible margin to form a majority government in British Columbia.

MORE National ARTICLES

Woman hit with egg on Halloween treated in hospital, RCMP investigating as assault

Woman hit with egg on Halloween treated in hospital, RCMP investigating as assault
Mounties in northern Alberta say they're investigating a possible assault after a woman was hit in the face with an egg while handing out candy on Halloween. RCMP in Grande Prairie say the woman was taken to hospital and treated for injuries to her face.

Woman hit with egg on Halloween treated in hospital, RCMP investigating as assault

Oil, gas companies told to cut emissions by one-third under planned cap

Oil, gas companies told to cut emissions by one-third under planned cap
Oil and gas producers in Canada will be required to cut greenhouse gas emissions by about one-third over the next eight years under new regulations being published today by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. The regulations, still only in draft format and about two years behind schedule, could further strain relations between Ottawa and the Alberta government which recently launched a $7-million advertising campaign to "scrap the cap."

Oil, gas companies told to cut emissions by one-third under planned cap

No strike notice so far as talks continue between Canada Post and workers' union

No strike notice so far as talks continue between Canada Post and workers' union
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers could have been in a legal strike position as of Sunday, after a cooling-off period in the contract talks ended the day before, but has yet to issue a strike notice. The union said Friday that a notice could still be issued "at any time" if talks break down. 

No strike notice so far as talks continue between Canada Post and workers' union

Party leaders condemn violence at Hindu temple in Brampton amid India consular visit

Party leaders condemn violence at Hindu temple in Brampton amid India consular visit
India's high commission in Canada is condemning violence that erupted Sunday as Indian consular officials visited a Hindu temple in the Toronto suburb of Brampton. Videos circulating on social media appear to show demonstrators holding banners in support of a separate Sikh country called Khalistan clashing with others, including some holding India's national flag.

Party leaders condemn violence at Hindu temple in Brampton amid India consular visit

B.C. port employers to launch lockout at terminals as labour disruption begins

B.C. port employers to launch lockout at terminals as labour disruption begins
Employers at British Columbia ports say they are going ahead with locking out more than 700 foremen across the province after strike activities from union members began. The BC Maritime Employers Association says the lockout will begin on the 4:30 p.m. shift and continue until further notice but will not affect grain or cruise operations.

B.C. port employers to launch lockout at terminals as labour disruption begins

The hallways look the same and where are the bathrooms, say B.C.'s newly elected MLAs

The hallways look the same and where are the bathrooms, say B.C.'s newly elected MLAs
A record number of first-time provincial politicians are about to descend on British Columbia's legislature, looking to make positive contributions for the province and trying to find the washrooms in the 127-year-old building. Fifty-seven new members from three parties, New Democrats, B.C. Conservatives and Greens, were elected to serve first terms in the 93-seat legislature in B.C. last month. 

The hallways look the same and where are the bathrooms, say B.C.'s newly elected MLAs