Local election officials say an error in ballot instructions did not materially affect the outcome of the School District 72 trustee election.
A joint statement from the school district, the City of Campbell River and the Strathcona Regional District says ballots used during advance voting in Campbell River on Oct. 7 incorrectly told voters they could select up to seven trustee candidates, instead of a maximum of five.
Officials confirmed 140 ballots were rejected because voters selected too many candidates. Of those, 109 were cast before the error was addressed, 12 after verbal instructions were corrected and 19 were mail ballots.
Election officials reviewed the preliminary results, including the vote difference between the fifth- and sixth-place candidates.
“Following a review of the preliminary election results, including the vote difference between the fifth- and sixth-place candidates and the number of rejected ballots, election officials determined that the voting instruction error did not materially affect the outcome of the School District 72 school trustee election,” the joint statement said.
The statement said officials would review the circumstances surrounding the error and the corrective measures taken to reduce the risk of similar problems in future elections.
Preliminary results show Craig Gillis, Joyce McMann, Kat Eddy, Hannah Clausen and Daryl Hagen were elected as SD72 trustees, while Shannon Briggs and Jan Gladish were acclaimed.
