Statement from the Returning Officer on Ward 4 Byelection

On February 4, 2016, the City of S. John's notified the general public that slight irregularities in the voters list for the Ward 4 byelection had resulted in ballots being mailed to a number of households outside the voting area.

The primary issue is the number of similarly named streets in the City.

Although elections staff have been working diligently to capture addresses not inside the Ward 4 area and to hand-deliver ballots to residents not originally issued ballots inside Ward 4, it was brought to our attention on February 18, 2016 that 20 ballots outside of Ward 4 that have been accepted into the system.

17 of the ballots came from Churchill Avenue, which is not in Ward 4, which was mistaken for Churchill Square, which is inside Ward 4.

Unfortunately, once the Voter Declaration Form is separated from the ballot, there is no way of retrieving and discarding the ballots.

All candidates were notified of this error this morning.

We apologize for this; it is our hope that these votes will have no bearing on the election overall, given the large number of voters in this Ward.

If the errors have a bearing on the results, we will consult the Elections Act and seek further direction.

Statement from Elaine Henley, Returning Officer, Ward 4 Byelection
February 18, 2016