Final votes tallied over weekend

The clock is ticking as British Columbians await final results from last weekend’s provincial election.

Elections BC will spend the next couple of days counting roughly 65,000 mail-in and absentee ballots. In the meantime, recounts will be underway in three ridings: Juan de Fuca-Malahat, Kelowna Centre, and Surrey City Centre. Ballots in those ridings will be conducted by hand, while other votes will be counted using tabulators.

Former NDP MLA Nicholas Simons bets that everyone is on edge.

“Nobody is saying that they’ve got in the bag. They’re going to be waiting right until the end and they’ll be crossing their fingers and toes,” he told The Leader Spirit.

Simons admits this year’s vote is as close as an election he’s ever seen.

“We’ll just have to wait and see. Most of the pundits are saying that it’s unlikely that there will be a big change but when you’re talking about such fine margins anything’s possible,” he explained.

(Courtesy Elections BC)

Simons cautions that we could be waiting a while.

“If the counting of the absentee and mail-in ballots results in other ridings have less than 100 between the winner and the second place, then there’s going to be another automatic recount and that will be recounting all of the ballots,” he said.

Both the BC NDP and BC Conservatives have a shot to form a majority government, depending on which ridings swing.

As it stands, the NDP has 46 seats, the Conservatives have 45, and the BC Greens have two — a party that may again hold the balance of power.

If these numbers don’t budge much, either party will try and strike a deal with the Greens to help prop up their government.

A similar move was made following the 2017 provincial election, when no party had a majority, and a failed confidence vote saw the then-BC Liberal government fall. An agreement was then made between the NDP and Greens to bring the New Democrats into power.

The final tabulation is due Monday, Oct. 28.

Why are results taking so long?

It’ll be more than a week after the election that we’ll get the final results, and part of the reason for that is because B.C. has a “vote anywhere” model.

“Because of B.C.’s vote anywhere model, electoral districts are counting results for multiple electoral districts. This means that voting results will not be finalized until every district has finished counting,” Elections BC told 1130 NewsRadio.

“Under the Election Act, the final count cannot begin until at least the fourth day after Final Voting Day. This time is required so that ballots to be counted at final count can undergo additional integrity checks to ensure that the voter was eligible to vote and that they only voted once,” the independent electoral body stated.

Judicial recounts could be on the cards

There is a chance there may be judicial recounts for some ridings, which are automatically handled by the B.C. Supreme Court.

“If the difference between the top two candidates in an electoral district is less than 1/500th of the total ballots considered, a judicial recount must take place,” Elections BC explained to 1130.

“Judicial recounts … may include some or all of the ballots in an election. Judicial recounts can also be requested by a candidate for the same reasons as a district electoral officer recount. Judicial recount requests must be made within six days of the conclusion of the final count.”

Six days from the final count is Nov. 4.

If a judicial recount is given the green light, it has to take place between a week to 15 days after the final count is proclaimed.

What do the parties think about the recount process?

1130 NewsRadio reached out to each party to speak with the candidates in the ridings where recounts are taking place.

The NDP sent the following statement:

“Every vote matters and should be counted and respected. This is a core principle, not just for New Democrats but for everyone who believes in democracy,” the party stated.

“It’s clear that British Columbians want things to be better. That’s every MLA’s job and it’s what motivates David Eby every day.

“We aren’t taking anything for granted. If we have the seats to form government, we’ll hit the ground running on the key priorities people told us they cared most about — more affordable housing, strengthening health care and helping people with costs — to deliver for British Columbians right away,” said campaign director Marie Della Mattia.

The Greens also sent a statement.

“Our new MLAs are hitting the ground running, getting to work for their constituents and working closely with our Leader to develop priorities,” the party shared.

“They are committed to working together on the priorities we heard from voters during the election. British Columbians are facing some big challenges and we are focused on how we can best serve them. As Sonia said yesterday in her press conference, she had an initial conversation with David Eby, and she also received a call from John Rustad. We will have more to say after we know the final results.”

The BC Conservatives did not respond to 1130’s request for comment in time for publishing.

Looking for the latest coverage on Saturday’s B.C. election? The Leader Spirit has everything you need to know. You can watch The Leader Spirit 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts.

–With files from Kate Walker.