Kevin Boychuk, who gathered the second-most amount of votes for city council in Ward 1 in Saskatoon’s civic election, told Global News he will request a recount.
“(The results went) back and forth and I think it’s fair to our democratic process,” he said, speaking over the phone.
Incumbent Darren Hill edged out Boychuk by just 56 votes — 1,639 to 1,583.
Boychuk told Global News he saw two manila envelopes of rejected ballots at a polling station on election night.
He said he’s hoping those ballots, and others like them, make the difference.
A recount, according to The Local Government Elections Acts, a provincial law, requires a judge to reexamine all ballots, including those that election officials accepted or rejected and which voters spoiled or declined.
Election officials, in all legitimate democracies, regularly reject a small portion of ballots for a number of reasons, like if a voter incorrectly marked it.
Hill, who has served on city council since 2006, said a recount was called for and said it was important for a transparent democratic process.
He also said he was still expecting to be re-elected.
“I’m confident in the work by the chief electoral officer. If they have a concern about the ballots then they pulled it for reason,” he told Global News.
Scott Bastian, Saskatoon’s chief returning officer, was not available to comment.