Mattawa’s municipal clerk will review all cast ballots from the October 24th municipal election, as council has ordered a recount. Of the 1,555 eligible voters, 717 votes were cast. All will be recounted to ensure the final tally regarding the votes for councillors is correct.
Some results were very close, with seven votes deciding who made council and who did not. A request was made to council to tabulate the votes again, and during the November 1st meeting, council members obliged.
The final numbers for all candidates can be viewed on the town’s website.
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Two options were on the table. Council could count ballots regarding only those councillors separated by seven votes or count all votes once again. “Everything is really close,” explained councillor Dexture Sarrazin, speaking of the election results. “I’d like to see everything counted once again and be done with it.”
Council agreed. Mayor Dean Backer noted the unique situation was a first for the town. “I don’t think the municipality has ever been through this,” he said, and supported the motion to recount the votes.
Next week, everyone involved in the election “will get a notice of the recount,” explained the town’s clerk. Candidates will be welcome to attend the recounting event, once announced. The clerk expects to post the results in the last week of November.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
