Chief electoral officer confirms recounts in two districts

The NWT’s chief electoral officer confirmed mandatory recounts will go ahead in Yellowknife North and Frame Lake following Tuesday’s election.

In Frame Lake, incumbent Kevin O’Reilly holds an 11-vote lead over former industry minister Dave Ramsay.

Yellowknife North candidate Rylund Johnson held a five-vote lead over incumbent Cory Vanthuyne according to Elections NWT’s initial, unofficial results.

There will be no recount in Range Lake, chief electoral officer Nicole Latour said.

In that district, Caroline Cochrane’s 18-vote victory over Hughie Graham represented marginally more than two percent of the overall votes cast. (A margin below two percent triggers a recount. Had one more person voted for Graham, a recount would have been required.)

Recounts are conducted by a judge and must take place within 10 days of the application for a recount being submitted. In 2015, recounts took roughly a week.

Meanwhile, Latour acknowledged “positive movement” in the NWT’s turnout. Unofficial figures suggest turnout rose from 44 percent in 2015 to 54 percent in 2019.

She said speculation on what drove increased turnout would be premature.

“We have a high of 71 percent to a low of 43 percent,” she noted. “I think those numbers are better than they were, particularly in Yellowknife.”

Latour aims to table the official results on the Legislative Assembly’s first day, October 25.