Final Vote Count For BC's Provincial Election This Weekend

The final count process for B.C.’s provincial election is scheduled to begin tomorrow and will conclude on Monday.

As part of preparations for final count, election officials have been screening absentee and mail-in ballots received up until the polls closed on October 19th, which was final voting day.

These ballots must be screened to ensure that the voter was eligible to vote and did not vote previously.

On Sunday, Elections BC estimated that approximately 49,000 ballots would be counted as part of the final count.

As the screening process is nearing completion, they now estimate that approximately 65,000 ballots will be counted as part of the final count.

Elections BC will provide a breakdown of the number of ballots left to count later today.

The mail-in ballot count begins Saturday.

On Sunday, counting continues, along with a recount for the ridings of Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre, which were too close to call last weekend.

The difference between the top two candidates in those districts is 100 votes or fewer.

Recounts were requested in a handful of ridings - including in Courtenay-Comox by MLA Ronna Rae Leonard, who lost her seat to the Conservatives’ Brennan Day by 231 votes.

That request was denied.

The final count of absentee ballots in all electoral districts happens on Monday and results will be updated at Elections BC hourly starting at 9 a.m.