Full election recount underway in Sooke following tight council race

A full recount is underway in Sooke following Saturday’s municipal election, where just five votes separate two candidates vying for the final seat on council.

The District of Sooke announced Tuesday, October 20th, that election officials would conduct a full recount after identifying two ballots requiring further review.

According to preliminary results released following the October 17th election, Elliott Lifton received 2,177 votes, narrowly edging out Helen Ritts, who received 2,172 votes.

With only six council seats available, that five-vote difference could determine who gets the final spot at the council table.

The District says the issue was discovered during a routine post-election review of ballots.

Two of the 65 ballots cast through mail-in voting and a special voting opportunity at Ayre Manor were flagged because voters had clearly marked their preferred candidates, but had not filled in the circles enough for the tabulating machines to recognize their selections.

Officials stressed there is no indication that the voting equipment malfunctioned.

Instead, the recount is being conducted to ensure all ballots are reviewed consistently and that voter intent is properly considered.

“Given the close margin for the final Councillor position and the ballot markings identified through our review, a full recount and manual inspection of the ballots is the appropriate step to verify the results and ensure all ballots are considered consistently,” said Chief Election Officer Greg Lowis.

The recount comes just days after Sooke voters elected a new mayor and delivered significant changes to council.

On election night, longtime councillor Kevin Pearson won the mayoral race with 3,140 votes (57.6%), defeating fellow councillor Al Beddows, who received 2,307 votes (42.4%).

Pearson will replace outgoing mayor Maja Tait, who chose not to seek re-election after serving as mayor since 2014.

Saturday’s preliminary results also showed Herb Haldane leading the council race with 2,688 votes, followed by Rob Pearce with 2,321, Katherine Strongwind with 2,301, Janet Evans with 2,290 and Curtis Peterec with 2,226.

Lifton currently holds the sixth and final council position, although that result remains unofficial pending the recount.

Candidates, their agents and scrutineers have been invited to attend Tuesday’s recount, during which election officials will manually inspect ballots.

The District says updated results will be released once the recount is complete and the official election results have been determined.

For now, the final council seat remains undecided, with just five votes separating the two candidates.