Why election recounts matter, according to a B.C. expert [Video]

Recounts may not change election results very often, but British Columbia political scientist David Black says they play an increasingly vital role in demonstrating election integrity.

“There is the quality control, the quality assurance, the self-correcting nature of our system showing up and demonstrating that it works,” said Black, an associate professor at Greater Victoria’s Royal Roads University.

Premier David Eby’s NDP claimed victory on Monday in B.C.’s Oct. 19 election, but the counting isn’t over.

Two judicial recounts were triggered at the end of the “final count,” by an NDP candidate’s 27-vote victory margin in Surrey-Guildford, and a Conservative candidate’s 38-vote win in Kelowna Centre.

Elections BC says district electoral officers must apply for a judicial recount if the margin of victory is within 1/500th of all ballots considered in the riding.

Recounts are conducted by a B.C. Supreme Court judge and may include all or some of the …