Opponents of the HST are calling for a public inquiry after voting closed in B.C. Friday, amid fears that hundreds of voters never received their ballots.
Lynne Konstandien said that she came home from a trip to Calgary early in order to submit her vote only to find that her ballot never arrived. Konstandien said she made repeated phone calls to Elections BC about the issue and still never received a ballot.
"It never came," she told CTV News. "And I told them that I needed it by then because I was going out of town."
Ron Whitehurst is frustrated because he never received his ballot either.
"That was my vote and I deserved to be heard. That's what democracy is all about," he said. "My wife received hers but I did not receive mine. And when I called yesterday, they told me ‘sorry Mr. Whitehurst. We can't help you out. We just have to apologize.' That's it."
Fight HST organizer Bill Tieleman said that too many things have gone wrong with the referendum, and the public deserves to know why.
"We've asked for there to be an inquiry of some sort after the referendum regardless because we think this could be done better," he said.
Elections BC said that more than three million ballots were mailed out, but Tieleman said that many never arrived, or may arrive too late.
"I also have a very bad feeling that many people may get a ballot in the mail on Monday or Tuesday, having requested them previously, arriving too late so they can't participate," he said.
Konstandien thinks that Elections BC should make an exception and allow late ballots to be submitted.
Elections BC told CTV News that a spokesperson wasn't available to comment until next week. It will take at least three weeks for the votes on the controversial tax to be tallied.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Nafeesa Karim
