Recount to happen Monday Update

There is still no word on the outcome of the judicial recount for federal race in Nipissing-Timiskaming.

The recount started this past Friday at the Clarion Resort Pinewood Park.

Validated results on Election Day, 2 weeks ago, had Conservative candidate Jay Aspin ahead of incumbent Liberal Anthony Rota by 15 votes.

Upon completion of the recount Elections Canada will post the results on their website.

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Reports indicate the Superior Court judge appointed to the judicial recount in Nipissing-Timiskaming Federal Election will start the process Friday.

There is no indication as to how long the process of reviewing the votes will take, but the results will be published on the Elections Canada website.

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CBC Radio's Morning North out of Sudbury is reporting that Elections Canada says Monday is the day for the judicial recount in Nipissing-Temiskaming.

The following is from the Elections Canada website outlining the process of Judicial Recounts:

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A judicial recount is a new tabulation of the votes cast for an electoral district, presided over by a judge of a superior court of the province or territory.

A judicial recount must take place if the leading candidates in an electoral district receive the same number of votes after the validation of the results, or if they are separated by less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast.* For example, in an electoral district where 40,000 votes were cast, if the difference between the first and second candidates was less than 40 votes, a judicial recount would be required. The returning officer must make a request to a judge for a judicial recount and must also write to the candidates or their official agents to advise them of the recount request.

The judge must fix the date for a recount to begin within four days after he or she receives the request.

A request to a judge to carry out a judicial recount may also be made by any elector, including a candidate. It must be presented within four days of the validation of the results and must include an affidavit stating that the count was improperly carried out, that ballots were improperly rejected or that the returning officer incorrectly added up the results at the validation. The applicant must deposit $250 with the court as security for the costs of the candidate who obtained the largest number of votes. If the judge agrees to proceed with a recount, it must begin within four days of the receipt of the application.

Judicial recounts deal solely with the tabulation and counting of votes. Concerns about fraud and irregularities in the electoral process are addressed through a contested election application.

Except with the permission of the judge, the only people permitted to be present at a recount are the judge, the returning officer, the candidates and a maximum of three representatives for each candidate. If a candidate is neither present nor represented, a maximum of three electors are entitled to attend on the candidate’s behalf.

A recount can be conducted in one of three ways: The judge can add the number of votes reported in the statements, recount the valid ballots or recount all of the ballots (including the spoiled and rejected ballots). The judge then totals the ballots cast for each candidate (according to the procedure chosen).

Except in the case of an automatic recount, a judge may at any time terminate a recount on request in writing by the person who applied for the recount.

At the conclusion of the recount, the judge delivers a certificate stating the results of the process. If there is no tie vote, the returning officer writes the name of the winning candidate on the writ of election and returns the document to the Chief Electoral Officer.

The results of a judicial recount are final and cannot be corrected or altered by a returning officer or the Chief Electoral Officer.

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