In Calgary’s Ward 12, a tight race for councillor between Mike Jamieson of A Better Calgary and Sarah Ferguson of the Calgary Party is set for a recount, according to city officials. Jamieson is currently leading Ferguson by a margin of 29 votes based on unofficial results. A press release from the city states that upon reviewing the unofficial results, it was found that there were enough rejected ballots to potentially impact the election outcome for the Ward 12 councillor position. Per provincial regulations, the city’s returning officer, Kate Martin, will oversee a recount of all ballots from the Ward 12 councillor race across the ward’s polling stations. The recount is scheduled to take place at the Big Four Roadhouse at 9 a.m. MT on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a request for a preliminary recount in Ward 9 was turned down by Martin. The request pertained to the councillor race in Ward 9, but after careful evaluation, Martin concluded that there were insufficient grounds to challenge the accuracy of the vote count record. Unofficial results indicate that independent candidate Harrison Clark emerged victorious with 4,845 votes, followed by independent candidate Gar Gar who received 267 fewer votes. Martin also took into account other potential circumstances under which a preliminary recount could be initiated as per the Local Authorities Election Act but found no compelling reason to proceed with a recount. The official results for Calgary’s election are expected to be released by noon on Friday.