Proof One Vote CAN Make a Difference!

By 250 News

Cariboo-Chilcotin School District 27 will have to hold a new election for  a Zone 2 Trustee.  The results of the November 19th ballot have been declared invalid by Supreme Court Justice Eric Chamberlist.

At issue was an incident that happened  at the polling station.  A couple entered the polling station,  they had no voters cards, so the two proceeded to register.  The husband was given a ballot,  which he marked and  put in the box,  as his wife continued talking to the elections officials.  It was her discussion that lead to the realization they were voting in the wrong zone.  The Official ran over to the box to retreive the ballot  the husband had filled out, but it was too late, the card had already been accepted.   

Here's where it gets really interesting, as the final  result, had Debra Ostrander with 127 votes,  and Pete Penner had 126. 
It is illegal to ask a person how they voted, so in this case,  it is possible, the vote was a tie and  that means the election must be held again.

The decision  was made  Friday, so it is too early to say when the School District will  hold a second ballot.

Both candidates say they will run again.  "I will seek re-election" says Pete Penner. He was the  incumbent with nine years of experience on the School Board.  Both Penner and Ostrander say a power outage that impacted the polls for three hours may have cost some votes.  Debra Ostrander says right now, the Board is trying to determine if she is a valid Trusteee until the election can be  held again, or if the seat must be declared vacant until that ballot can be held.  "I am looking forward to a fresh start " says Ostrander,  who says she  was hoping the Court would reach this decision as  there was a true irregularity at the polls, "I would rather go back to the polls and get a true result than have doubts about  who should be the Trustee."

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