BC Election 2017: At least 3 ridings likely heading for recount after close results

It’s often said that every vote counts, and nowhere was that more clear than in a number of ridings during Tuesday night’s election.

In fact, some of the votes were so close, a recount is all but inevitable.

In Courtenay-Comox for example, the NDP’s Ronna-Rae Leonard bested the Liberals’ Jim Benninger by just nine votes.

Leonard won the riding with 10,058 votes, while Benninger had 10,049.

According to Elections BC, if a tie vote takes place, or if the difference between the first two candidates is less than 1/500 of the total ballots considered, the District Electoral Officer must apply for the judicial recount.

This recount must take place within six days after the official results are announced following the final count.

Other ridings likely heading for a recount include Maple Ridge-Mission, where the NDP’s Bob D’Eith defeated Liberal candidate Marc Dalton by a difference of 120 votes. D’Eith took 9,843 votes, while Dalton took 9,723.

And it was a similar story in Coquitlam-Burke Mountain, where Liberal candidate Joan Isaacs took 9,514 votes to defeat NDP candidate Jodie Wickens by 170 votes.