The agency says all registered political parties have been informed that 822 special ballots cast by electors in 74 electoral districts across the country were left with the returning officer in the riding of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam.
Elections Canada says the ballots should have been returned to its headquarters by April 28 at 6 p.m. to allow them to be counted.
Elections Canada says an initial analysis shows that the outcomes in those 74 districts were not affected by the mislaid ballots.
Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has asked for a complete review of the controls in place to ensure that a similar situation does not happen again, Elections Canada said.
“My commitment to candidates, political parties and Canadians is that when issues related to the delivery of an election arise, we take all necessary steps to resolve them,” Perrault said in a news release.
I generally get angy at this kind of fuckup, but Elections Canada staff have repeatedly shown themselves to operate in good faith and try to do their best to support the electoral system.
As such, I’m fairly confident that was human error, and the result of not following procedures. I look forward to their report and implementation of effective fixes.
Most likely just a mistake, but we need to make sure it never happens again.
No harm, no foul?
Even if they dont change the election, they mean that someones votes didn’t get counted, and helps cause conspiracy theories. To keep Canadas elections fair and honest, clearly the cause needs to be investigated.
No, there is a foul here and there is harm. Should be investigated fully, with the possibility of charges.
