Surrey-Guildford Judicial Recount Commences, Identifying 28 Unreported Ballots
Election officials arrived at an industrial building in Surrey, B.C., to commence a judicial recount for the narrowest victory in British Columbia’s election, starting with 28 additional ballots that were discovered days after the initial vote.
This recount will determine the fate of the NDP’s one-seat majority, which was secured in Surrey-Guildford with a slim 27-vote lead over the B.C. Conservatives, granting Premier David Eby’s party 47 seats in the legislature.
Jill Lawrance, the executive director of electoral operations at Elections BC, informed the media that a total of 19,090 ballots will be counted during the judicial recount, including over 1,600 votes cast outside of the riding.
The recount, carried out by 10 teams of two counters and two scrutineers, is expected to extend into Friday and kicks off with a scrutiny of the envelopes containing the 28 unreported ballots due to a data-entry error, as stated by Elections BC.
A makeshift courtroom was set up with wooden desks and grey room dividers, where Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo initiated the proceedings today, before the manual counting commenced.
The teams of counters, stationed around tables in the warehouse, were paired with scrutineers from the New Democrats and the B.C. Conservatives, openly agreeing on each vote as they held up the ballots.
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Lawrance emphasized that the teams “do their best to interpret the voter’s intent.”
If scrutineers raise objections, both parties come together, and if they reach a consensus on the vote, the judge may not need to inspect it, as Lawrance clarified on Thursday.
However, if there is a dispute on the validity of a vote, the ballot is presented to the judge, who will then review it, listen to arguments from both sides, and make a decision on whom the vote should be counted for.
In a statement on Wednesday, Eby stated that the judicial recounts are vital to ensuring the accuracy of every vote. Post-recount, he asserted that B.C. residents are looking for swift action on critical issues like affordability, housing, healthcare, and economic development.
