VICTORIA – Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm says he has concerns about the openness of the process to count ballots in the the harmonized sales tax referendum, but Elections BC says the former B.C. premier has nothing to worry about.
Vander Zalm said Wednesday the ballots for the mail-in referendum are being stored at a secret location. Ballot-counting observers, including himself, are only permitted to be present when the ballots are actually counted.
The former premier sent a letter to the Liberal government asking for “an open process at all stages of ballot handling … ” (and) full protection of the peoples’ ballots.”
Vander Zalm said gathering the ballots at an undisclosed location will leave people with the perception that the observing process was not completely open from start to finish.
“There is a secret warehouse where the ballots come and they are sorted – to what extent we don’t know,” said Vander Zalm at a news conference outside Elections BC’s offices.
“We don’t know what’s happening at this first facility and that leaves a lot of questions for a lot of people.”
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Elections BC spokesman Don Main said HST vote counting observers, including Vander Zalm, will have the same observer access to the process as official scrutineers do on provincial election nights.
He said the ballots at the gathering location are being sorted by electoral riding and are not being counted.
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“The acting chief electoral officer is keeping the process transparent and open and has created this process to allow both sides of the HST referendum – the Yes and No groups as well as government and the Opposition – to have representatives to observe the process as they would in an election,” Main said.
Finance Minister Kevin Falcon said he’s not about to consider meeting Vander Zalm’s calls for a change to the process.
Falcon described Elections BC as an independent agency that has proved itself beyond reproach when it comes to running elections and referendums.
“This is getting increasingly ridiculous,” said Falcon.
“There’s not a chance in the world that we’re going to interfere with their (Elections BC) independence or start telling them how they should run and oversee a referendum.”
British Columbians have until Friday, Aug. 5 at 4:30 to get their HST ballots to Elections BC.
Vander Zalm said there are fears that hundreds of people won’t be counted in the referendum because they did not receive their ballot or their ballots were delayed in the mail.
Main said voters who didn’t receive a ballot had until July 22 to request a ballot from Elections BC. Voters can still put their ballots in the mail and take their chances they’ll arrive in time or they can personally deliver them to an Elections BC location.
The results of the referendum are expected in late August or early September.
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