Initial count finished, but 49,000 ballots still to be reviewed in B.C. election

Nearly 50,000 ballots remain uncounted in the B.C. provincial election, and their contents – as well as the outcomes of any recounts – will determine the final result of the vote.

Elections BC announced Sunday that it has completed its initial count in the 43rd provincial general election, after a nail-biting election night during which no party won enough seats to form a majority government.

As of Sunday afternoon, the agency showed the B.C. NDP leading in 46 ridings, the B.C. Conservatives in 45, and the B.C. Greens in two, leaving all parties short of the 47 seats required for a majority.

Two ridings – Juan de Fuca Malahat and Surrey City Centre – saw the top two candidates finish within 100 votes of each other, triggering a mandatory recount at the district level, under the provincial Elections Act.

The criteria for a judicial recount is different, and one can only take place after the final count, which will happen from Oct. 26 to 28.

Though the initial count is complete, there are certain types of ballots it does not include, according to Elections BC.

"Some ballots cannot be counted until final count, because they require additional integrity checks to ensure the voter was eligible to vote and that they only voted once," the agency said in a statement Sunday.

"Ballots counted at final count include mail-in ballots returned after the close of advance voting, and out-of-district ballots cast by voters at non-technology voting places."

All other ballots – including those cast at advance polls, those cast on final voting day, and those cast by mail before the end of the advance voting period – are included in the initial count.

Elections BC says 2,037,897 ballots have been cast as of the close of the initial count. That's the most ever cast in a provincial election in B.C.

"Elections BC estimates that approximately 49,000 ballots will be considered as part of the final count," the agency said. "A breakdown of the number of ballots being considered at final count by electoral district will be provided before final count starts."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Lisa Steacy