Categories: Capital Read, Inside the Queensway

UPDATED: Vancouver South Recount: It's back on, y'all – although it's still not clear whether every vote will be counted.

by kadyomalley on Thursday, October 30, 2008 2:35pm - 84 Comments

That’s what I heard from someone who was supposed to attend today’s hearing, at least — you know, the one in which Wai Young and a Conservative Party lawyer were going to appeal the decision to suspend the count last week. Apparently, the judge took the initiative to restart the count before the lawyers had even had the chance to make their arguments, so it’s back to the ballot-by-ballot examination tomorrow.

Will every vote be counted this time around? I guess that will depend on whether the margin is still as narrow after spending a few hours going through more of the unopened boxes of ballots; while a judicial recount cannot be terminated by any party, it can be sped up considerably if both candidates agree to suspend the hand count in favour of using the poll statements. Hopefully there will be at least one local media outlet allowed inside the counting room when the process resumes on Friday — given the mass confusion that has surrounded this story since it broke last week and the high level of public interest in the case, it’s hard to see how the judge could refuse permission to a reporter seeking to make sure that all the facts come out. (If ITQ was a few thousand miles closer, she’d be breaking land speed records to file a request with the court.)

Anyway, I’ll update this post with any new information that comes out.

UPDATE: From the comments, a link to a Vancouver Sun story on the recountroversy, which provides the most plausible explanation yet for what may have an honest mistake by the judge, based on an apparent misunderstanding of the Conservative candidate’s wishes:

Hira said the Conservatives appeared to concede during the recount process last Friday that Dosanhj was the winner, so Dohm signed a certificate, declaring Dosanjh the winner, which was sent to Ottawa.

But the Conservative candidate, Wai Young, later expressed she wanted a further recount.

Tags: count voteula, ray leitch, tell it to the judge, Ujjal Dosanjh, vancouver south recount, wai young

More by kadyomalley

madeyoulook

Oh-so-late reply to Kady about the “closed-minded creeps” above:

Kady, I am not saying it’s impossible that Young was a little unsure of what to say and when so that the judge may clearly catch the message (although a competent judge might want to say something like “you’re sure you’re conceding now?” and I presume all candidates have availed themselves of legal representation before the judge). What I am objecting to is the expression above: as a Conservative candidate, it necessarily follows that she is a clueless useless idiot without any instructions downloaded from the PMO master server. That is a closed-minded, offensive and creepy sweeping generalization to make about someone who offered herself up to serve her constituents. And it was deliberately re-affirmed by a second commenter after I objected to the first.
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

MYL – I’d have to say that the rigid communications control exerted by the party (over candidates) and PMO (over elected MPs) is probably just as much to blame for fomenting such sweeping generalizations as the ostensibly closed minds and creepy offensiveness of outside observers.
madeyoulook

I get that head office was (probably overly) in charge for the Tories. But to therefore suggest that a 2nd place candidate in a mandatory recount wouldn’t think to read up on the Elections Canada procedures (maybe without even being told to), or wouldn’t have a spontaneous “try to win” instinct, or wouldn’t have competent legal representation, all because said 2nd place candidate was a CPC candidate, well, that offensive thought deserves to be called what it is.

And your suggestion as to WHY people have reached such an offensive generalization is probably correct, but it does not diminish the offensiveness of pre-judging an individual because “her people” are doing things to make her look bad. Transfer that pre-judging philosophy to gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and see how it smells.
http://www.bluelikeyou.com/ Joanne (T.B.)

Strange how Vancouver South is now updated to ‘completed’ on the Elections Canada official results site. (with no mention of the re-recount.)

Down the memory hole.
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

Joanne – Well, in fairness, there is no way to really mention it in an official tabulation – recounts are either in progress, or completed. Technically, there was no re-recount. What happened on Friday was a continuation of the mandatory recount that had initially been suspended due to confusion over whether or not both candidates had agreed to move to poll statements to complete it. (I’m going to do a separate wrapup post once I find out what happened to make today’s counting session unnecessary.)
http://www.bluelikeyou.com/ Joanne (T.B.)

Thanks, Kady.

I’ll be looking forward to your wrapup post.
Pingback: Blue Like You » Blog Archive » Something still isn’t adding up in Vancouver South…
http://www.bluelikeyou.com/ Joanne (T.B.)

Technically, there was no re-recount. What happened on Friday was a continuation of the mandatory recount that had initially been suspended due to confusion over whether or not both candidates had agreed to move to poll statements to complete it.

Radio NL describes the process as follows:

A second judicial recount is expected to continue today in the federal riding of Vancouver South…

But what’s in a name?
http://www.macleans.ca Kady O’Malley

Argh! I just don’t think that’s technically right, although I can see why someone might call it that. But if the initial recount was never formally terminated – or its termination was reversed by the judge – then I don’t see how this can be considered a re-recount. This is confusing enough without inventing new twists.