Elections BC readies for first vote count using electronic tabulators
UPDATE: BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon has won the Vancouver-Quilchena by-election.
For the first time, the independent office that administers elections in B.C. will be using new technology for the Vancouver-Quilchena byelection, which means results could be in within minutes of polls closing.
Andrew Watson, communications director for Elections BC, told CTV News after a voter marks their paper ballot, that ballot will be fed through an electronic tabulator and then will go into a ballot box.
“The benefit of that is we're able to report results much faster on election night and have a consistent count across voting places for the election,” Watson said.
In past provincial elections, results started coming in around 45 minutes after polls closed, he added. That’s because officials would open each box and then count each ballot. With the electronic tabulator, each vote is essentially counted as it comes in. Then, when it’s time to publish results, it’s a matter of calling up the numbers.
Watson also explained there’s no way to determine the results until the voting officially closes.
“At that point, the officials in the voting place will produce what's called a results tape that will show the counts for all the candidates for that voting place. And that information is called in to the district electoral office and then published on the Elections BC website.”
The results will be preliminary. That’s always the case on election night. In the past, absentee ballots still need to be counted and were part of final results. Watson said one of the added benefits of the new technology is that the preliminary ballots will be more complete because absentee and mail-in ballots will be included in the preliminary account.
The Vancouver-Quilchena seat was vacated when former Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson resigned after failing to return the party to power in the last provincial election.
The candidates are:
- Jeanette Ashe, BC NDP
- Dallas Brodie, Conservative
- Kevin Falcon, BC Liberal Party
- Sandra Filosof-Schipper, Libertarian
- Wendy Hayko, BC Green Party
After several days of advance polling, voters can cast ballots at polling stations until 8 p.m. Saturday.
All paper ballots will be counted as part of the final count on May 4.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.