What you need to know about the B.C. Conservatives' election allegations
Conservatives allege 'irregularities' in voting in the Surrey-Guildford riding, which they lost by 22 votes
Two months after the results of the 2024 provincial election were finalized, the B.C. Conservatives are calling for an independent review, claiming they have found a number of "irregularities" in voting.
The party's concern centres around the Surrey-Guildford riding, where Conservative candidate Honveer Randhawa lost the race by 22 votes.
At the time, the Conservatives expressed faith in the process and said they accepted the election results.
But on Thursday, more than two months after the election results were confirmed, Randhawa announced he will file a complaint with the B.C. Supreme Court under the Elections Act.
A 20-page press release from the Conservative party outlines a number of allegations as a result of the party reviewing the voting process and the voters themselves in that riding.
The allegations
The party alleges that one person in the riding voted twice, using two slightly different names.
It also alleges that 22 voters in Surrey-Guildford did not reside in the riding, and thus were not eligible to vote.
It says it is further concerned about votes from residents of Argyll Lodge, a community residential care facility where the Conservatives claim 21 mail-in ballot votes were cast by residents.
In a complaint document sent Jan. 2 by Randhawa to the Elections B.C. chief electoral officer, and shared with media, Randhawa says a volunteer from his team met with two individuals residing at the lodge.
He says the volunteer learned that some residents did not request mail-in ballots and were unaware that a provincial election was taking place.
The complaint also alleges one resident said they were instructed to mark a cross in a box on a mail-in ballot by a staff member at the lodge and did not know who they voted for.
The complaint asks the chief electoral officer to investigate the matter urgently.
The lodge's owner has strongly denied the allegations.
Randhawa also says he will, as an individual, file a petition to the B.C. Supreme Court under the Elections Act, claiming B.C. NDP Gary Begg's win in the riding is invalid.
What is Argyll Lodge?
Argyll Lodge is described by Fraser Health as a community residential care facility.
The home consists of 25 beds and "provides therapeutic programs and activities focused on maintaining and promoting mental, physical, emotional, and social health for adults," according to a 2014 pamphlet from Fraser Health.
Speaking with CBC News, Argyll Lodge owner and manager Baljit Kandola called it a "mental health and addictions facility."
Kandola said she was "shocked" by the allegations, which she said are "absurd."
She said clients at her facility have been casting their votes the same way for more than 30 years.
"We have policies in place, do not engage in any kind of political or religious conversations with our clients. We maintain a very neutral base."
Elections B.C. response
Anton Boegman, chief electoral officer of B.C., confirmed his office received the complaint from Randhawa and is currently reviewing it.
He said if the complaint is determined to be merited, he will launch a full investigation.
He said people voting twice is very rare.
"Typically in an election we might have 10 ballot instances of someone trying to vote twice," Boegman said, noting that such cases are often accidental.
He said there is a system in place that strikes a voter off as soon as they cast their ballot, which is visible at all voting stations, either in advance voting or on voting day.
"I'm very confident that the election was held in accordance with the Election Act."
How could this affect election results?
The B.C. NDP won a slim majority in the 2024 election, claiming 47 of the 93 legislature seats. The Conservatives won 44 and the Greens won two.
Hamish Telford, policial science professor at the University of the Fraser Valley said what happens next depends on the courts.
He said if Randhawa does in fact bring the complaint to court as he has announced, and if the court rules the election results in that riding were invalid, there would presumably be a byelection.
"It will be up to the court to determine how solid that evidence is," said Telford, adding that evidence would have to be robust for a judge to overturn the election outcome.
With files from Courtney Dickson, Katie DeRosa and B.C. Today