Close results for wards 2 and 4 will be retabulated, but clerk anticipates “zero” change
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
After the October 26 election, West Nipissing’s new municipal council is set to take over on November 17, but two very close races in wards 2 and 4 have sparked requests for a vote recount, which the current council agreed to at its last meeting on November 3. According to Municipal Clerk Melanie Ducharme, the recount will take place on Monday morning, November 16, but she insists that the results of digital voting will not change. In the meantime, Joanne Savage, the candidate for Ward 4 who brought the request forward, is hoping for further investigation into claims that some ineligible voters may have cast ballots in her ward.
The Ward 4 race was won by incumbent Jamie Restoule by a margin of only 4 votes ahead of Savage. Since a mandatory recount is only triggered in the event of a tie, according to the Municipal Elections Act, Savage’s request needed council’s approval. At the Nov. 3 meeting, councillors asked for clarification from Ducharme regarding the cost and process for a recount. The clerk indicated that there would be no cost incurred, but that the likelihood that results would change was “zero”, as votes were tabulated electronically.
Council still voted in favour of doing the recount, and an amendment from councillor Kati Nicol also included a recount for Ward 2, since that race was also quite close, with only an 8-vote margin in favour of Yvon Renaud. Nicol said that even if the outcome doesn’t change, she was in favour of doing the recount to provide some peace of mind. Councillors Jamie Restoule and Roch St. Louis stepped out of council chambers during the discussion and vote on the matter, so as to avoid a conflict of interest.
