Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm of the BC Supreme Court begins the judicial recount of votes in Vancouver-Burrard today.
Elections BC declared Lorne Mayencourt, the Liberal incumbent the victor by 18 votes after absentee votes were counted. Mayencourt had trailed NDP candidate, Tim Stevenson by 17 votes prior to counting of the absentee votes.
The judicial recount process was set in motion by BC Election law that requires a recount when the results are so close. The judge can decide to deal with only those ballots marked for either Stevenson and Mayencourt leaving ballots for the other candidates out of the mix. Some certification envelopes were not opened and may also be included now.
The judge could also decide to review all rejected ballots. The process may take up to four days to complete. The results can then be appealed within two days. If there is no appeal the process is over.
It would appear that the only real hope for the Stevenson team here would lay in the certification envelopes that were not opened. It is doubltful that this vote which has been watched so closely will result in a significant change.
Vancouver-Burrard was a clear indicator of the division in the Province. After four years of Gordon Campbell, many people were willing to look at the NDP, led by Carole James, again after the devastating results of the 2001 election when the NDP elected only two MLAs.
James presented a more middle of the road picture for people in BC and it paid off. In fact with an additional 3500 votes in total, in selected ridings, we would be talking about Premier James, it really was that close.
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