A provincial court judge will oversee a recount of the ballots cast in the riding of sa国际传媒 Centre, where BC Conservative candidate Kristina Loewen won a 38-vote victory.听
鈥淭he judicial recount in sa国际传媒 Centre is automatic, as the difference between the top two candidates after final count is less than 1/500th of the total ballots cast,鈥 Andrew Watson of Elections sa国际传媒 said in an email.听
In the event the recount determines Wooldridge and Loewen received the same number of votes, a provincial by-election for the sa国际传媒 Centre riding would be called, Watson said.听Anyone could put their names forward for the by-election, in addition to Wooldridge and Loewen.听
Thatsa国际传媒 unlike the situation at the municipal level in which a tie leads to both candidates' names being written on a piece of paper, with the judge then drawing one name out and declaring that person to be the winner.听
That happened after the 2018 municipal election in Peachland, when Harry Gough and Cindy Fortin both received 804 votes. Provincial court judge Ellen Burdett confirmed the tie at the recount, then drew Fortinsa国际传媒 name from a box.听
That recount was open to both Fortin and Gough, as well as members of the media. Watson said some details of the pending mandatory recount in sa国际传媒 Centre, including its timing and any media access, would be up to the judge to determine.听
A judicial recount will also be held in Surrey-Guildford, where the NDP candidate won by 27 votes over the BC Conservative candidate.听
There have been two judicial recounts in individual ridings after the last three provincial elections.听
In 2020, a judicial recount was held in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, where BC Liberal candidate Jordan Sturdy was ahead by 41 votes. The recount increased his victory margin to 60.
In 2013, a recount was triggered in Coquitlam-Maillardville where the NDPsa国际传媒 Selina Robinson was ahead by 35 votes; she ultimately won by 41 votes. There were no judicial recounts after the 2017 election.听
The counting of ballots at previous elections in sa国际传媒 was done by hand. This year, for the first time, electronic tabulators were used at polling stations.听
While recounts may not change election results very often, political scientist David Black says they play an increasingly vital role in demonstrating election integrity.
鈥淭here is the quality control, the quality assurance, the self-correcting nature of our system showing up and demonstrating that it works,鈥 said Black, an associate professor at Greater Victoriasa国际传媒 Royal Roads University.听
Recounts - done by hand with human scrutineers present, visibly verifying each ballot - are the 鈥渕ost visible and public-facing parts鈥 of an election operation to assure the public that their votes are being counted accurately, Black said.听
鈥淎t the end of the day, democracy is an act of faith,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had two million-plus people vote in this election in B.C, and democracy is kind of a black box. You vote, the machine does its work, and out comes a result which has a significant effect on your life.鈥
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