Return to manual counting floated

[kster]

By Wanda ChowNewsLeader Staff
Dec 14 2005

Some techno-phobic Burnaby councillors would like to look at a return to manual ballot counting in future elections, following the recent judicial recount which returned Sav Dhaliwal to council.
While on election night Team Burnaby’s Barbara Spitz led by one vote, the three-day recount resulted in a win by three votes for the Burnaby Citizens Association’s Dhaliwal after Provincial Court Judge Margaret Rae allowed a number of ballots which were marked incorrectly for the voting machines to register their votes, but which clearly showed the voters’ intent.

On Monday, Coun. Colleen Jordan proposed a council workshop to review the city’s bylaw on elections, noting that the judge had questions of her own.

In her reasons for judgment, Judge Rae said the recount raised some ambiguities in the provincial Local Government Act such as: who is required to be notified of a recount; how long do candidates have to apply for a recount; and what happens when it is impossible to complete a recount within the required timeframe.
Jordan said she was also concerned about the 696 ballots where people voted for too many candidates, and were therefore not counted. “What we all want to see is a fair vote where everyone’s vote is counted.”

Coun. Nick Volkow, who admitted to a “lack of expertise with any type of technology,” supported the workshop and said one concern is that many voters don’t understand the need to mark ballots in a way so they can be read by the machines.
Coun. Gary Begin suggested that council consider the possibility of a return to counting ballots by hand.


http://www.burnabynewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=41&cat=23&id=555760&more=

[Stevepol]

1. Isn't this Canada?

[kster]

2. councillors........nt

[Wilms]

3. Why do you hate Canada?

:shrug:

:sarcasm: