Over 800 special ballots 'mistakenly' kept in B.C. riding, Elections Canada says

Over 800 special ballots cast during the recent federal election were mistakenly kept at the office of a returning officer in B.C., Elections Canada says.

The agency says all registered political parties have been informed that 822 special ballots cast by electors in 74 electoral districts across the country were left with the returning officer in the riding of Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam.

Elections Canada says the ballots should have been returned to its headquarters by April 28 at 6 p.m. to allow them to be counted.

Over 500 of the ballots mistakenly left in Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam were for the electoral district of Port Moody—Coquitlam.

Liberal Zoe Royer was elected in Port Moody—Coquitlam with 27,074 votes. Conservative Paul Lambert came in second place with 25,126 votes. 

Other special ballots were for ridings across the country, including Halifax, Nepean and Vancouver Centre.

Elections Canada says an initial analysis shows that the outcomes in those 74 districts were not affected by the mislaid ballots.

The agency says its initial analysis showed that the problem was caused by "human error" and "a failure to comply with the written procedures."

Chief Electoral Officer Stéphane Perrault has asked for a complete review of the controls in place to ensure that a similar situation does not happen again, Elections Canada says.

"My commitment to candidates, political parties and Canadians is that when issues related to the delivery of an election arise, we take all necessary steps to resolve them," Perrault said in a news release.

Picture Courtesy:  THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns