The 2017 provincial election in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain was a squeaker but not tight enough to warrant an automatic recount, a spokesperson from Elections BC confirmed.
Andrew Watson, communications manager for Elections BC, said the 87 votes that separate winning candidate and BC Liberal Joan Isaacs from her opponent, BC NDP candidate Jodie Wickens, is too large for a recount because the margin must be 1/500 of the 23,460 votes considered — or 47.
However, a voter, a candidate or a district electoral officer for the riding may apply to the BC Supreme Court for a judicial recount within six days of the final count on grounds laid out in the Elections Act.
"It is possible an application for a judicial recount might be made," Watson said, but as of Wednesday afternoon he hadn't heard of any application.
The Tri-City News has been unable to reach Isaacs or Wickens through their campaign managers to determine if there will be any next steps.
However, the circumstances for a recount are limited to certain conditions, such as votes not being correctly accepted or rejected, unopened or resealed certification envelopes or secrecy envelopes that should have been considered, the ballot account doesn't accurately record the number of votes for a candidate and the final count did not correctly calculate the total number of votes for a candidate.
However, the only four cases of judicial recounts since the Election Act came into effect in 1995 were all based on narrow margins of less than 1/500 of total votes considered.
One notable case in 2013 saw BC NDP MLA Selina Robinson confirmed in her post in Coquitlam/Maillardville after a judicial recount was held due to the small margin between the top two candidates. (The difference was just 35 votes).
Although Isaacs' lead was reduced from 215 earlier in the day to 87 by 5 p.m. Tuesday, according to the BC Election's website, she still managed to win the seat for the BC Liberals.
After the tally was complete, Isaacs had 44.28% of the vote, with 10,388 votes, compared to Wickens' 43.91% and 10,301 votes. The BC Green Party's Ian Soutar had 2,771 votes for 11.81% of the popular vote. In all, 23,460 votes were counted.
Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth also solidified his lead, as did Coquitlam-Maillardville's Robinson, another BC NDP MLA.
Once absentee ballots were counted for Farnworth, he had 14,079 votes and 55.79% of the 25,234 total, a record for the riding.
Robinson, who narrowly won her seat in 2013, earned 11,438 votes or 50.61% to Kim's 8,519 or 37.70%. The Greens, meanwhile, had 2,467 or 10.92% once all 22,599 votes had been tallied.
In Port Moody-Coquitlam, where the NDP's Rick Glumac clinched the seat from BC Liberal incumbent Linda Reimer, the numbers gave Glumac 11,754 or 47.69% of the popular vote, compared to 9,910 votes for Reimer or 40.20% of the popular vote. The Greens, meanwhile, earned 2,985 or 12.11% of the popular vote.
