Fight HST organizers had a few choice words for elections officials Thursday, after Elections BC announced they'd rejected the anti-tax camp's recall petition because it was too long.
The electoral office said the petition they wanted to put to voters to recall Science and Universities Minister Ida Chong in the suburban Victoria riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head exceeded the 200-word limit under the law because MLA and HST counted as eight words -- "member of the legislative assembly" and "harmonized sales tax."
Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James was not available for comment Thursday. Tricia Poilievre, his executive program manager, said James was in Ottawa.
"The law requires that the statement submitted as a part of a recall application does not exceed 200 words," said Poilievre, citing section 19 of the Recall and Initiative Act.
Colin Nielsen, the lead organizer for the recall, admitted that they didn't do their homework on the word count when they submitted the applications on Monday to Elections BC.
"We are not lawyers. We are just a group of concerned citizens," he said.
Elections BC also rejected 150 applications for recall canvassers because they were part of the same submission.
Neilsen said he is certain that he and the volunteer canvassers will be able to collect the 18,000 eligible votes from Chong's riding to trigger a byelection.
He said he submitted a new recall application Thursday afternoon. It was reviewed for word-count by two people directly under James, but the final decision can only be signed off by the acting chief electoral officer.
James will also have to decide whether the 150 applications for volunteer canvassers submitted with the first recall petition will have to be redone, as well.
"This could take us several weeks," he said.
Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm said the decision to require new applications for the 150 canvassers is James's own interpretation of the legislation.
"A lot of people are very upset and they are questioning the independence of Elections BC," the former premier said.
Once the recall petitions are approved, canvassers have 60 days to sign up 40 per cent of voters who were on the voters' list in the riding in the last election to spark a byelection.
The anti-HST campaign has been hounding the government for more than a year, spearheading a petition to repeal the HST legislation. Their efforts led the government to announce a referendum on the tax next year.
The disastrous unrolling of the combined five-per cent federal Goods and Services Tax and the seven-per cent provincial sales tax led Premier Gordon Campbell to announce earlier this month that he will step down. A new BC Liberal leader will be chosen at a Feb. 26 leadership convention.
Fight HST forces also have said they will also launch recall campaigns in late January targeting Kamloops-North Thompson Liberal Terry Lake and Comox Valley Liberal Don McRae.
