Recount ordered in Prince George-Mackenzie after discovery of uncounted ballot box

Elections BC has announced that it will apply for a judicial recount in Prince George-Mackenzie following the discovery of an uncounted ballot box.

The ballot box, which contains about 861 votes, was not included in the initial count or reported on election night.

However, Elections BC confirmed that the missing votes will not affect the outcome of the election in the district, which was won by Kiel Giddens of the Conservative Party of BC.

The oversight was discovered during a review of election materials ahead of judicial recounts in other districts, and comes as part of a broader effort to correct several errors in results reporting from the final count.

Chief electoral officer Anton N. D’Aniello issued an order to address discrepancies in the reporting of results from six electoral districts. During preparations for judicial recounts in the Kelowna Centre (KEC) and Surrey-Guildford (SRG) districts, it was revealed that out-of-district votes, recorded on 11 tabulator tapes, had not been reported. These omissions, which were attributed to human error, represent less than 0.08 per cent of the total votes reported across the province and do not change the outcome in any of the affected districts, Elections BC states.

"The errors identified during this review, while unfortunate, are minor in nature and have no impact on the final results of the election," D’Aniello said in a statement. "We are committed to ensuring that all votes are counted and reported accurately, and these corrections will ensure the integrity of the results."

The errors were discovered as Elections BC prepared for judicial recounts in KEC and SRG, which had narrow margins. During this process, officials uncovered a data entry mistake that had caused 14 votes for SRG not to be reported. In response, Elections BC launched a province-wide review to identify any other similar issues.

The review, conducted from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, found further instances of unreported votes in five other electoral districts, impacting 69 districts in total. Despite the widespread nature of these omissions, the unreported votes in each district were small, with no impact on the overall election results or the need for additional recounts.

On Nov. 1, Elections BC informed the parties involved in the judicial recounts in KEC, SRG, and Prince George-Mackenzie about the omissions and confirmed that steps were being taken to correct the errors before the official results are certified.

The discovery of the uncounted ballot box in Prince George-Mackenzie has prompted the application for a judicial recount, although the additional votes will not alter the outcome in that district. The recount will include 861 votes, seven of which are out-of-district ballots.

All affected parties and candidates have been notified, and updates to the official results will be posted following the completion of the judicial recounts. Once the recounts in SRG, KEC, and PRM are finalized, the official results of the 2024 provincial election will be certified and published, Elections BC states.