7.4 Recounts
Humans make mistakes. Especially when performing repetitive, monotonous tasks that strain the limits of attention and concentration. When manually counting votes, election workers can make addition errors or even place vote tallies in the wrong column (Ilanbey, 2025). When there are concerns about the accuracy of the results, a recount can be conducted.
Types of Recounts
Candidate-initiated recounts can be requested by a candidate. This may require a formal, written notification to the EMB. Automatic or mandatory recounts are conducted in close races where the margin of victory falls within a specific range (ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, n.d.-i).
Judicial Recounts
In Canada, a Judicial Recount is a recount overseen by a judge. These are triggered by an apparent tie, when two or more candidates have the same number of votes, or when the difference between the two Candidates is less than 0.1% of the total votes cast (Elections Canada, 2025, April 30). In judicial recounts, the judge merely oversees the counting process.
“A judicial recount is a formal means of verifying the count of the votes cast for an electoral district. It is presided over by a judge of a superior court who sits in the electoral district where the election results are validated.”
– Elections Canada, Judicial Recount Handbook
Example: Recount in Terrebonne
In the 2025 Canadian federal election, the results in one riding swung back and forth until a judicial recount found the final margin of victory to be a single vote!
Activity Description
April 28: After tabulating the ballots on election night, the Liberal candidate was projected to win by 35 votes. Election results are unofficial until they can be validated by Elections Canada (Major, 2025).
May 7: The post-election validation process verifies the number submitted by each voting station. After validation, the Bloc candidate was leading by 44 votes. This close margin automatically triggered a judicial recount (Elections Canada, 2025).
May 10: A judicial recount conducted by a Quebec Superior Court Judge certified the vote totals with a single vote being the decisive margin (Lopez Steven, 2025).
April 28
After tabulating the ballots on election night, the Liberal candidate was projected to win by 35 votes. Election results are unofficial until they can be validated by Elections Canada (Major, 2025).
May 7
The post-election validation process verifies the number submitted by each voting station. After validation, the Bloc candidate was leading by 44 votes. This close margin automatically triggered a judicial recount (Elections Canada, 2025).
May 10
A judicial recount conducted by a Quebec Superior Court Judge certified the vote totals with a single vote being the decisive margin (Lopez Steven, 2025).
Control & Custody
For effective, transparent recounts, election officials must be able to verify a chain of custody for completed ballots and other election materials. The chain of custody “refers to the processes, or paper trail, that documents the transfer of materials from one person (or place) to the next” (Thomas & Weil, 2021). These procedures might include numbered and signed security seals for ballot boxes and other election records to prevent unauthorized access.
