FREDERICTON – A spokesman for Elections New Brunswick says the province’s chief electoral officer wants to address the snafus that delayed the release of Monday’s voting results by asking a judge for a special audit.
Paul Harpelle says Michael Quinn will seek a consensus from an all-party committee for an audit that would provide a random sampling of the voting results from a number of ridings.
READ MORE: Full New Brunswick election coverage and results
Harpelle says the audit would likely involve recounts by hand, but the details have yet to be worked out.
Quinn’s decision to seek an audit came as Elections New Brunswick confirmed that the unofficial results released early Tuesday were correct, except for a few minor discrepancies that did not affect the outcome of any riding.
READ MORE: Vote tabulators not to blame for N.B. election results glitches: official
Under provincial law, a judge must grant a recount if a candidate or voter requests one in a riding that has been decided by 25 votes or less.
If the margin of victory is wider than 25 votes, a voter or candidate can still request a recount, but they must pay a $200 fee and submit reasons for their request to the Court of Queen’s Bench.
The deadline for seeking recounts is at end of the business day on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, premier-designate Brian Gallant, whose Liberals won the election, will be sworn in along with his cabinet on Oct. 7.
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