Calgary election recount denial sparks anger, potential court complaints
Two second-place council candidates are upset with Elections Calgary over its decision to deny their election recount requests.
Four requests were officially turned down on Thursday, but it's two especially-tight races that are the focus of candidate disappointment Friday.
In Ward 9, runner-up Naomi Withers says she had enough evidence in her request to warrant another look.
"This is about making sure the vote is counted," Withers told CTV News. "This must happen, regardless of the vote and which way it goes."
Withers lost to incumbent Gian-Carlo Carra by only 161 votes.
In a series of tweets, she alleges her scrutineers spotted issues with tabulator machines and with administration rules regarding vote observation.
She says the recount request process was a puzzling one.
"So there might actually have to be some process improvements with Elections Calgary back-and-forth when someone does request a recount, because I'm not a lawyer and I don't think many of us are," she said.
"We could come out and be off by 400 votes, and that's something our team is OK with."
According to the city, the Elections Calgary returning officer needs to determine there's been a technical or administrative error that would've impacted the vote in order to accept a recount request.
The officer may also initiate a recount on their own volition if they consider the number of rejected and objected-to ballots would have an effect on the results.
There is no recount process which is initiated because of a close vote result.
A statement from the city's communications teams says "in the case of the four recount requests made by candidates, and the returning officer’s own review of administrative and technical matters, there were no reasonable grounds to believe that the result of the count of votes was inaccurate."
In Ward 4, DJ Kelly disagrees.
Kelly lost to incumbent Sean Chu in another tight race, the two candidates separated by only 100 votes.
"The Local Authorities Elections Act as it is written gives the returning officer limited discretion and authority to conduct a recount," Kelly's statement to CTV News reads. "As a result, I will begin the process of requesting a judicial recount."
Recounts were also denied in Ward 3 and in the mayoral race.
Any runner up is eligible to file a complaint for a judicial review.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'