Elections BC confirms recounts have been requested in two ridings following the 2017 B.C. election on Tuesday.
They have received requests in Courtenay-Comox and Maple Ridge-Mission.
In Courtenay-Comox, only nine votes separate the NDP’s Ronna-Rae Leonard and the BC Liberals’ Jim Benniger. If Benniger takes the lead in this riding, it would mean the difference between a minority government and a majority government as the BC Liberals would then hold 44 seats.
In Maple Ridge-Mission, there was a difference of 120 votes between the NDP’s Bob D’Eith and incumbent BC Liberal Marc Dalton, with D’Eith currently ahead.
The other close riding is Coquitlam-Burke Mountian, which Joan Isaacs won for the BC Liberals, bringing in more than 170 votes than the NDP’s Jodie Wickens. A recount has not been requested for this riding but the deadline to do so is Monday.
Elections BC says candidates can request a recount of some or all of the ballots considered at initial count to be part of the final count, when absentee ballots are considered.
According to Elections BC, a candidate can request a recount of ballots considered at initial count if the difference between the top two candidates is 100 votes or fewer, or if there is evidence of possible errors made in the acceptance or rejection of ballots or the number of votes a candidate received as recorded on the ballot account.
A judicial recount will also be triggered if “a voter, candidate, candidate’s representative or District Electoral Officer… believe errors were made in the acceptance or rejection of certification envelopes or ballots, or if the ballot account is not correct. In the event of a tie vote, or if the difference between the first two candidates is less than 1/500 of the total ballots considered, the District Electoral Officer must make an application for a judicial recount.”
An application must be made within six days after the declaration of official results following the conclusion of final count.