City of Powell River has been served notice of an application to the BC Supreme Court from city council candidate Allan Drummond, who lost to newly elected councillor George Doubt by two votes in the recent municipal election. Doubt had 1,766 votes to Drummond’s 1,764.
Drummond said he wants the election for city councillors overturned.
In a media release issued Thursday, November 22, city chief electoral officer Chris Jackson stated that Drummond is alleging the election of city councillors should be declared invalid for having not been conducted in accordance with the Local Government Act and is asking the court to annul it. The petitioner is not challenging the validity of the election for mayor or school trustees.
“The reason I'm doing it is because I went in and audited the voting registers and we found six irregularities,” said Drummond. “Three of those seem to be able to be reconciled, although I've seen no documentation other than I've spoken to the chief electoral officer, Chris Jackson.”
Jackson said he will not be responding to the petition as required by law but he did say Drummond is exercising his legal right.
"We have ten days in order to respond," said Jackson. "The courts need to set the date but then it's 21 days from November 22, that the courts should hear the case and make a decision. It should have a fairly quick turnaround."
Jackson said the city has made the matter a priority and will wait to see what the courts decide on Drummond's petition.
“There are people who voted who shouldn’t have voted,” said Drummond.
He added that some of the people who voted live outside municipal boundaries and were ineligible to cast ballots for mayor or council.
“They do take that oath,” said Drummond. “They swear that they're eligible to vote in the election. If they do and they're not supposed to, well, it's pretty serious.”
Drummond said the results should be overturned and one possibility would be a by-election between he and Doubt. But that is for the court to decide, he added.
“Under the Local Government Act there are remedies,” said Drummond. “If it was 100 votes I wouldn't even be bothering.”
