Elections B.C. says 2024 election 'free and fair' but marred by 'false narratives'
Report finds results came in faster but narrow margin of victory contributed to 'disinformation'
Despite an uncounted ballot box in Prince George and allegations of voting irregularities, B.C.'s chief electoral officer says the 2024 provincial election was free and fair. He also pushed back against "false narratives" and "disinformation" peddled by those questioning the integrity of B.C.'s voting system.
Anton Boegman, releasing the first Elections B.C. report into the Oct. 19 provincial election, says he's confident the new electronic tabulation model was a success, returning most polling results quicker than the old manual counting model.
However, Boegman blamed "human error" for the situation in Prince George-Mackenzie, where election officials did not count a ballot box containing 861 advance votes on election night.
The omission of the ballot box did not affect the result in the Prince George-Mackenzie electoral district.
"As chief electoral officer, I take full accountability for the work of our election officials and for the mistakes that were made," he said.
British Columbians had to wait weeks to find out that the NDP had won a narrow, one-seat majority. Premier David Eby's win was secured through a judicial recount, which handed the Surrey-Guildford riding to NDP MLA Garry Begg by a margin of 22 votes.
"We can't control how close an election is. That's determined by the voters," Boegman said.
Boegman expressed concern about the proliferation online of "false narratives" that questioned the legitimacy of the vote.
That included claims, he said, that many non-Canadian citizens voted, that many people voted twice, that there was fraudulent use of mail-in voting, and that ballot boxes were not secure.
Before Boegman's news conference, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad repeated his concerns with the election result.
"We had people who are not Canadian citizens voting. We had people who are not Canadian citizens receive invitations to vote, receive their voting cards."
Rustad has previously admitted he doesn't have evidence to prove non-Canadians voted. Despite this, he said all B.C. driver's licences should be marked with a "C" to indicate Canadian citizenship.
"There is too much room for potential manipulation and potential errors, and Elections B.C. is not doing the work to catch this."
CBC News asked Boegman if he is concerned about Rustad highlighting those so-called "false narratives."
"I'll leave the political discussion to the politicians," he said. "I stand by my assertion that the election was free, fair and secure."
Only 15 formal complaints
The chief electoral officer encouraged all legislators to read the report and said people should "make sure they verify their facts."
Of the 2.1 million votes cast, there were formal complaints made about just 15 ballots, Boegman said.
He says Elections B.C. has various safeguards to prevent voter fraud. For example, voters must confirm their eligibility to vote, including citizenship, before registering and voting.
Multiple voting is prevented by checking people off the voters' list as they vote, which he said was done in real time thanks to the new electronic model.
People casting a ballot by mail must also meet "identity and integrity standards" before their vote is counted, he said.
The Surrey-Guildford riding is at the centre of a court challenge launched by Honveer Singh Randhawa, the Conservative candidate who lost to Begg. He alleges that 21 mail-in ballots from residents of a mental health and addiction home were compromised due to interference from a staff member.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Elections B.C. did not address the allegations in the report because of the court's involvement.
The elections agency also dealt with unforeseen challenges such as the atmospheric river that blanketed B.C. and shuttered some polling stations due to power outages or road closures.
Boegman described some election officials filling up sandbags to stop water from pouring in or conducting the count by the light of their cellphones.
The candidate nomination process was also upturned when B.C. United withdrew from the election in late August, less than a month before the official campaign period began. hon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
