Over 800 Special Ballots Mistakenly Kept at B.C. Returning Officer’s Office During Federal Election

During the recent federal election, Elections Canada has revealed that more than 800 special ballots were mistakenly kept at the office of a returning officer in British Columbia. The agency has notified all registered political parties that 822 special ballots cast by electors in 74 electoral districts across the country were left with the returning officer in the riding of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.

Special ballots, which include votes made by mail and those cast in person at an Elections Canada office, should have been returned to the agency’s headquarters by April 28 at 6 p.m. to ensure they could be counted. However, due to a “human error” and a “failure to comply with written procedures,” the ballots were not sent back on time.

Of the ballots mistakenly left in Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, over 500 were for the electoral district of Port Moody-Coquitlam. The remaining ballots were for ridings across the country, including Halifax, Nepean, and Vancouver Centre. Despite this error, Elections Canada has stated that an initial analysis shows that the outcomes in the 74 districts were not affected by the mislaid ballots.

In Port Moody-Coquitlam, Liberal Party candidate Zoe Royer was projected to be elected with 27,074 votes, surpassing Conservative candidate Paul Lambert, who had 25,126 votes.

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has called for a complete review of the controls in place to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future. Perrault emphasized the agency’s commitment to resolving issues related to the delivery of elections promptly and effectively.

“My commitment to candidates, political parties, and Canadians is that when issues related to the delivery of an election arise, we take all necessary steps to resolve them,” Perrault stated in a news release.