A British Columbia political scientist says social media questioning of the provincial electionB次元官网网址檚 integrity is an B次元官网网址渋nevitableB次元官网网址� result of political B次元官网网址渢oxicityB次元官网网址� and a tight race.

University of British Columbia professor emeritus Richard Johnston says questions about mail-in votes and the handling of ballots also reflect circumstances south of the border.

He said other factors include use of more complicated voting apparatus and social media platforms where anyone can publish doubts.

B次元官网网址淭here is a relationship between the closeness of results and the toxicity of the commentary around it,B次元官网网址� Johnston said.

B次元官网网址淚 mean, weB次元官网网址檙e describing almost exactly the situation in the U.S., right? Basically a 50/50 result, so close that each side might have suspicions about the other.B次元官网网址�

The British Columbia election came down to absentee ballots on Monday, after neither Premier David EbyB次元官网网址檚 NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives, led by John Rustad, secured a majority.

After a count of mail-in votes over the weekend saw prospects for an NDP victory increase, online posts questioned the number of mail-in and absentee votes, the ballotsB次元官网网址� origins, the wait between the initial and final counts, and how the votes were handled during that time.

B.C. Conservatives president Aisha Estey said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday that she B次元官网网址渟pent the last two days in a warehouse watching the transcription and counting of mail-in ballots,B次元官网网址� and saw nothing problematic.

B次元官网网址淓lections BC staff have been working tirelessly and doing their best within the confines of the legislation that governs their work,B次元官网网址� Estey said in her post.

B次元官网网址淲ould we have liked mail-ins to be counted closer to E-Day? Sure. But I saw nothing that caused me concern.B次元官网网址�

Premier and B.C. New Democrat Leader David Eby also took to X on Sunday to express support for Elections BC staff B次元官网网址渕aking sure every vote gets counted.B次元官网网址�

Elections BC did not respond directly to questions about the integrity of the process, only saying that the final vote count was continuing on Monday.

Johnston said Elections BCB次元官网网址檚 efforts to make voting more accessible and counting more efficient had actually been feeding integrity doubts.

He said increased use of advance voting, mail-in and absentee ballots, as well as digital vote tabulation, were being compared unfavourably by some with more basic voting and hand-counting systems used in the past.

B次元官网网址淏asically, the whole voting process was simpler,B次元官网网址� Johnston said. B次元官网网址淵ou had to turn up on election day. You had to have a reason for voting in advance polls B次元官网网址� and you really had to basically make a declaration that you were going to have either a surgical procedure or you could not avoid being out of the constituency on election day.

B次元官网网址淭he count may take a long time on election day if itB次元官网网址檚 a particularly close riding,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut B次元官网网址� thereB次元官网网址檚 a sense in which all the players who were on the ballot were in a position that was easily interpretable as verifying the facts. Everybody had an interest in defending its side, and the result would be in a sense accurate and fair.B次元官网网址�

Dominion Voting Systems, which manufactured the electronic tabulators used in the B.C. election, referred questions to its website page dedicated to misinformation about the company and its technology. It addresses concerns about misinformation that emerged after the U.S. presidential election in 2020.

Fox B次元官网网址 agreed last year to pay Dominion nearly US$800 million to avert a trial in the companyB次元官网网址檚 lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the election.

B次元官网网址淎ll Dominion systems are based on voter-verifiable paper ballots or paper records for auditing,B次元官网网址� the company said on its web page. B次元官网网址淒ominion systems comply with all requirements for system updates and election records retention.B次元官网网址�

Johnston also said the very idea of making voting more accessible could create a B次元官网网址渂ackground for paranoia,B次元官网网址� as doubters questioned the nature and origins of people who would not otherwise have been able to vote.

B次元官网网址淗istorically, paranoia about the conduct of elections has hardly been peculiar to the right wing of the political landscape,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 also been a feature on the left. It kind of depends on who wins and who loses.

B次元官网网址淚f you were to go back 20 years and look forward, I think a lot on the left would be shocked that it would be people on the left who are defending the integrity of the establishment, so to speak.B次元官网网址�

One major difference with discourse in the United States, Johnston said, was that B.C. party leaders, such as Estey, had so far not engaged in B次元官网网址渄elegitimization tactics.B次元官网网址�

Whether that changes would be something to watch for, he said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檒l be interesting to see whether thereB次元官网网址檚 blowback from the fringes of the Conservative Party against the partyB次元官网网址檚 own leadership,B次元官网网址� he said.

He added: B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 see whether there are any dynamics inside the Conservative Party over the next few days that makes John Rustad worried that perhaps the party presidentB次元官网网址檚 acceptance of the process was premature from a political point of view.B次元官网网址�