Yesterday was quite a ride. My wrists are complaining again from all the typing, so posting will be brief for the next little while. My deepest thanks to all the bloggers who continue to pick up the torch. More here , here, here , here and here. (Sorry if I missed anyone!)
Two significant items today though:
1. The Vancouver Sun gives us a bit more information as to the process involved regarding Wai Young’s plan to challenge the partial recount – Tory candidate to sue over Dosanjh win:
…Wai Young had originally lost in the Oct. 14 federal election to Dosanjh. The recount narrowed the margin to only 22 votes from the initial 33-vote gap.
Conservative party official Ray Leitch said in an interview Monday that Elections Canada recounted the votes from 28 of 184 ballot boxes.
A lawyer for the party will appear before a B.C. Supreme Court judge Thursday requesting that the judicial recount check every ballot box.
"The judge has the prerogative to decide how many ballot boxes he’s going to look at, and he decided after the 28 that he felt it was enough and there wasn’t a trend there," said Leitch.
"We thought that there was a trend coming down and that it possibly could change if we continued doing the count."
The party is still deciding whether to continue up the judicial chain to the Appeal Court if the Supreme Court judge denies the continuation of the recount.
"We’re looking at that option right now. It depends on the reason he gives," he said…
Yesterday there was a lot of speculation in comments about whether a new judge would be sought by the CPC, but it would appear from the Sun article that they are planning to first give Justice Dohm an opportunity to address this issue. Perhaps someone else is better able to interpret it than I have. (Swift?) (Dr. Dawg?) In any case, I’m sure we’d all appreciate hearing Justice Dohm’s reasoning on this ‘recount’.
2.) The Sun article also mentions yesterday’s recount in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca, in which Conservative candidate Tony DeSouza voluntarily ended the process when it became mathematically impossible for him to be declared the victor.
The Times Colonist won the unprecedented opportunity of witnessing the recount and gave an insider’s perspective on the event – Rare glimpse inside a judicial recount. It’s a fascinating read, but what surprised me was how reporter Rob Shaw ended the story:
…Around 5:20 p.m., with all the votes counted, Conservative candidate Troy DeSouza was down 70 votes to Martin and there were only 67 disputed ballots for the judge’s consideration.
DeSouza’s lawyers then asked the judge to terminate the process and concede defeat.
However, by ending the recount early, the lawyers invalidated the entire recount process. It meant the original results from the Oct. 14 election — in which Martin won by two fewer votes — stand as official, despite a recount process that took more than 100 people an entire day to complete.
In another article, Rob Shaw details some of the costs of the recount:
The basic cost of the recount was covered by Elections Canada, including a $750 charge for the room at the Fairmont Empress where the recount was held and more than 100 bottles of water. Workers paid for their own lunches.
Both the Liberals and Conservatives were each permitted to bring four lawyers and 25 staff. Elections Canada provided its own lawyer from Ottawa and more than 50 officials.
Martin said his four-person legal team — which could have billed hundreds of dollars an hour — worked for free. DeSouza’s lawyers declined to comment on legal fees.
Wilson adjourned his ruling on who will pay the legal fees until a future date.
It almost seems as if Shaw is fixated on the costs, and is suggesting that this process was a waste of time and effort.
I disagree. How can you put a price on democracy?
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Evening Update: H/T to Bruce for this latest Kady update – Vancouver South Recount: The Latest Intrigue – Plus Memories of Ballot Battles Past.
Man, I wish I could get paid for doing that stuff.
Dr. Roy – Counting the votes. Dr. Roy asks Ujjal to do the honourable thing and demand a complete recount.
Wednesday Update: Narrow margin puts spotlight on Election Recounts – Vancouver Sun.
