Port Moody to become first B.C. city to adopt automatic recount rule for close elections

[CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said that the provincial recount was done by hand, when in fact, a vote tabulator machines were used.]

Port Moody is set to become the first municipality in British Columbia to trigger automatic vote recounts in close elections.

On July 29, council unanimously voted to update the city’s election bylaw ahead of the 2026 municipal election, mandating a full recount of all ballots if the margin between winning and losing is less than 0.1 percent of the total ballots cast.

In an election with 9,000 ballots, a difference of nine or fewer votes would trigger an automatic recount.

“I know that the 2022 election was very hard for everybody,” said Coun. Amy Lubk. “When you aren’t sure, when there’s such a small margin, it really puts things into question and gets things left up in there for a very long period of time.”

The previous municipal election resulted in multiple ties and close races across B.C. – including in Port Moody. 

After a partial judicial recount of two polling stations, Lubik ended up tied with fellow candidate Dave Stuart for the sixth and final seat on council. She ended up winning her seat through a blind hat draw nearly two weeks after the election.

After the initial count, Stuart was up just two votes – well within the 0.1 percent margin that would now require a recount under the updates rules. At the time, Port Moody’s election bylaw did not include any specific recount trigger, and the chief election officer relied on discretionary authority under the Local Government Act to conduct an informal recount before certifying the result.

Under the new policy, a recount will apply to any close results for mayor, the sixth-place council seat, or the second-place school trustee position – any seat which could be affected by narrow margins near the cut-off line for being elected. The rule will also apply to byelections, with the margin calculated based on the number of positions available.

Staff said a percentage-based trigger provides a more equitable approach than a fixed vote count, since it adjusts to different levels of voter turnout. By contrast, fixed thresholds – such as a 50-vote margin – could be disproportionate in low-turnout byelections or high-turnout general elections.

“This is a proactive measure that brings clarity, consistency, and fairness to our local election process,” said city staff in a report presented to council. “It also reflects good governance by providing direction in scenarios similar to the one that occurred in 2022.”

The margin will be calculated by multiplying the number of valid ballots by 0.1 percent and rounding up to the next whole number. In all cases, the recount would include all ballots from all voting locations and must take place within four days of general voting day, before the final results are declared.

While recounts are already permitted under provincial law through judicial application or in the case of tie votes, staff noted that no B.C. municipality currently has an automatic recount trigger written into its bylaws..

Philip Lo, Port Moody’s chief election officer, noted that candidates can still challenge the results of the city’s recount by applying for a judicial recount – which is what Lubik did in 2022.

However, he said that the bar is “fairly high” for these applications to provincial court. 

Coun. Haven Lurbiecki, while doubtful a similarly close result would occur in the next election cycle, said the bylaw change adds another layer of security.

“Everybody wants to feel that their vote counts, feels confident in their vote, and that we’re doing everything we absolutely can to make sure we’re having accurate voting results,” Lurbiecki said. “I think the community is going to be very happy that we’re putting this in place.”

Lubik still expressed some unease with the city’s reliance on voting tabulator machines for any recounts.

“I definitely would feel more comfortable if it was a hand count,” she said.

Lubik’s campaign manager criticized the city’s methodology for the informal recount in the 2022 election, which found 25 discrepancies in total, resulting Lubik and Stuart both losing two votes each.

The provincial recount resulted in Lubik’s total going up by four and Stuart’s total going up by two, ending in an even tie.

Both candidates requested all 10 polling stations be recounted, but instead the province judge ordered recounting of the two stations with the tightest margin.

Lo, however, did not recommend manual recounts, stating it would be an “enormous undertaking,” and unlikely to be complete in the four-day timeframe required under the Local Government Act.