Conservative runner-up sharpens court bid for Surrey-Guildford by-election
Honveer Singh Randhawa's lawyer amends B.C. Supreme Court petition.
The lawyer for the Conservative Party of B.C. runner-up in Surrey-Guildford filed an amended petition on June 16 that claims 14 non-residents voted in the riding.
Conservative Honveer Singh Randhawa had a 103-vote edge after the polls closed on the Oct. 19 election day, but NDP incumbent Garry Begg won the riding by 22 votes after a judicial recount last November. Premier David Eby made Begg his Solicitor General and the win gave the NDP a 47-seat majority in the new 93-seat Legislature.
Randhawa wants a B.C. Supreme Court judge to invalidate the results and order a by-election.
Sunny Uppal’s June 16 filing no longer alleges two people voted more than once, but claims Elections BC knew that one, unauthorized person had requested 22 vote-by-mail packages for residents of the Argyll Lodge addiction recovery house.
Only an official appointed under the Election Act can assist another voter and nobody at the lodge had been appointed to do so by Elections BC. Randhawa claims Elections BC was aware that one individual ordered all of the mail-in ballots, because a common email address and phone number were attached to all the voting package requests. He also says Elections BC knew it was a mental health facility
“Notwithstanding, Elections BC filled the lodge's request for a mail-in ballot package thereby exposing vulnerable individuals to potential exploitation,” said the amended petition.
“At no material time, did the lodge voters authorize or request the lodge emplovee(s) to order mail-in ballot packages on their behalf.”
Randhawa originally found 45 voting irregularities, including 21 mail-in votes from the Argyll Lodge. Randhawa’s investigation also found that the NDP received a $1,400 donation from a person with the same name as Argyll manager Baljit Kandola.
The amended filing alleged that a lodge employee directly or indirectly intimidated lodge voters to influence their choices. It also accused Begg of filing material in court that accused Randhawa of exploiting mentally ill individuals, "notwithstanding the fact he was already in possession of Election BC’s material in which Elections BC admitted to having made a mistake.”
On May 26, Justice Barbara Norell reserved decision on applications by Elections BC and Begg to seal or ban publication of personal information of certain voters. Norell said she does not want to wait much longer to hear the case.