Elections Calgary has confirmed it will conduct a recount of Monday's election results in Ward 12, while a similar request in Ward 9 was rejected.
The recount in District 12 will begin Thursday morning at 9 a.m., Elections Calgary said in a news release late Wednesday.
“A review of the unofficial results revealed a sufficient number of rejected ballots, other than those on which no voters voted, to affect the outcome of the councilor election,” the press release said.
Winner Mike Jamieson and runner-up Sarah Ferguson in District 12 are separated by 29 votes, according to unofficial election results in Calgary.
Jamieson, who ran as the Better Calgary party, received 6,848 votes, or 30 per cent of the vote.
Ferguson, Calgary Party candidate for District 12, announced Wednesday she requested a preliminary recount due to the “risk of human error” as ballots were counted by hand under new provincial election rules.
While Ferguson said she was aware of the challenges associated with counting ballots by hand, she said her inspectors “noticed several inconsistencies” during the count.
“We have these processes in place for a reason, so it’s important that we go through the proper processes to have that trust in these voices,” Ferguson told Global News.
“I want to do this for the people here and for myself so that we know with confidence that whatever the end result is, that is what it will be.”
According to Elections Calgary, any changes to the unofficial results for Ward 12 will be reported to the election officials once the recount is complete.
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A preliminary recount was also requested by District 9 runner-up Ghar Ghar, who ran as an independent candidate.
Gahr received just 267 votes, ahead of winner Harrison Clarke, another independent candidate, who received 27.2 percent of the vote, or 4,845 votes.
He said his inspectors found and helped correct 45 errors in vote counting on election night, and he contends that election officials working long hours with new procedures may have created the conditions for human error.
“I hope that the recount will give us confidence, accountability and give us trust, so when Calgarians stood in that line, they knew that 'my vote matters,'” Gare said Wednesday.
Late Wednesday, the Calgary Electoral Commission announced it was denying a request for a recount in Ward 9 due to “there is insufficient evidence to suggest that the record of the vote count is inaccurate.”
The deadline for candidates to request a preliminary recount of unofficial results was Wednesday afternoon.
According to Elections Calgary, the second-place candidate can request an early recount if they prove the vote count at a polling station is inaccurate.
According to Elections Calgary, the recount officer may also call a provisional recount if the number of rejected or objected ballots may have affected the results or if the recount officer determines that an administrative or technical error may have occurred.
Another scenario that allows second-place candidates to request a recount is if the margin of victory in a particular precinct is within one-half of one percentage point.
The deadline to request this type of recount is 72 hours after the election results are announced on Friday.
Community mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp announced Tuesday she will seek a recount, with 583 votes separating her and Mayor-elect Jeromy Farkas, according to unofficial results.
“Given the slim margin of victory in this election, it makes sense to review and double-check whether proper procedures were followed and the count is accurate,” Sharp said in a statement.
“I’m happy to accept the results of this review, whether we win or lose, because our citizens’ final say is the most important thing in local government.”
Laurie Williams, an assistant professor of political studies at Mount Royal University, said it was “quite possible” that mistakes were made with the narrow margin in District 12, but said it was “hard to imagine” that the mayoral election result would be overturned by a recount.
But Williams said a recount could help boost confidence in the process.
“I think the potential certification of the election results could really increase confidence that the results truly reflect the intentions of the voting public,” she said.
The deadline to officially announce election results in Calgary is noon Friday, and the deadline to complete a thorough recount of the official results is noon Oct. 29.
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