Alleged irregularities within the Surrey-Guildford Provincial Riding (McQuarrie Hunter LLP)

Recent court filings by Elections BC admit that it made critical errors in their administration of  the 2024 BC Provincial Election, confirming Mr. (Honveer Singh) Randhawa’s concerns about the integrity of  the electoral process. This admission comes as Mr. Randhawa challenges the validity of the 2024  BC Provincial Election.  

Elections BC admits that no individual was identified as having assisted any of the 22 voters that  voted by way of mail-in ballot from the mental health lodge notwithstanding the fact there were  clear instructions on the certification envelope for any individual having provided assistance to  the voter to record their name. 

Section 109.1(b.1) of the Election Act requires an individual  assisting a voter to write their name on the certification envelope of the voter’s mail-in voting  package. The copies of the envelopes disclosed to Randhawa confirm that the individual  providing assistance to the voters from the lodge failed to write their name on any of the  certification envelopes. For greater clarity, the Certification Envelopes provide as follows: 

In their response materials, Elections BC acknowledges that they sent mail-in ballots to a mental  health facility without ensuring that an election official was present, as required by the Election Act. Mr. Randhawa’s lawyer, Sunny Uppal, says that this constitutes a serious irregularity in  which one individual ordered 22 mail-in ballots on behalf of 22 vulnerable individuals without  any checks and balances being in place to ensure those individuals were not being used as a tool  for election fraud.  

This admission sharply contrasts Elections BC’s public narrative. In their 2024 Provincial Election Report, Elections BC repeatedly praised the security of mail-in ballots and their successful administration of BC’s 2024 Provincial Election, while also accusing Mr. Randhawa and the Conservative Party of spreading misinformation. At no point in their 2024 Provincial  Election Report, did Elections BC disclose their now admitted error. 

Now, despite admitting their error, Elections BC argues that Mr. Randhawa’s petition to  challenge the election is time-barred because it was not filed within 30 days of the writ of the  election. Conveniently, the 30-day period lapsed before Elections BC admitted their error. Mr. Uppal contends that Election BC’s position is contrary to public policy because it allows Elections BC to benefit from concealing their error from Mr. Randhawa and the public. 

Adding to this concern, the NDP and Mr. Begg, the party and candidate who benefitted from Elections BC’s concealment, are now seeking to capitalize on the same procedural technicality to  argue Mr. Randhawa’s petition is time barred. Mr. Uppal maintains that allowing parties to gain an advantage from an undisclosed irregularity undermines public trust in the electoral process and the very principles of democratic accountability.