Elections BC will start counting mail in ballots this Friday, and Langley voters and candidates will see within about three days whether the Oct. 24 election night results will stand.
The provincial elections agency released updated numbers this week, revealing how many absentee ballots had been received from each riding by the election day deadline.
For the Langley riding, the count as of Nov. 3 was 7,416, and in Langley East, it was 10,637.
In both ridings, the NDP candidates were leading the Liberal candidates on election night, but the mail in and absentee vote has not been counted and could, theoretically, change the outcome.
In Langley East, Megan Dykeman of the NDP was ahead with 7,944 votes to 7,145 cast for Liberal candidate Margaret Kunst. A total of 20,386 votes had already been counted, so the absentee ballots could increase the total by up to a third.
In the Langley riding, Andrew Mercier of the NDP had 7,042 votes to the 5,555 cast for Liberal incumbent Mary Polak. A total of 15,816 votes have already been counted.
Both the Langley-area ridings had been held by Liberal candidates since 1991.
In Abbotsford South and Abbotsford West, where Liberal candidates were ahead on election night, there are also a significant number of new ballots to count.
Abbotsford South has 6,303 more ballots, and Abbotsford West has 5,135 more ballots to count.
Abbotsford South, which includes Aldergrove, had Liberal Bruce Banman significantly ahead with 7,244 votes and the NDP’s Inder Johal with 5,125. A total of 15,643 votes have already been tallied as of this week.
In Abbotsford West, which includes parts of Glen Valley in North East Langley, Mike de Jong led with 6,844 votes to the 4,993 of the NDP’s Preet Rai.
None of the candidates have officially conceded or declared victory, and all are waiting for the final results.
According to Elections BC, counting of the mail in ballots starts Friday, Nov. 6 at 10 a.mm. and will be updated online at results.elections.bc.ca. Keep an eye on www.langleyadvancetimes.com as well for further updates.
According to Elections BC, the number of absentee and mail in ballots does not necessarily mean that every one of those votes will be counted.
Certification envelopes have to be screened to make sure they meet the requirements.
Also, any envelope with no ballot can’t be counted, and any one with more than one marked ballot inside also won’t be counted.
In addition to mail in ballots, ballots cast by voters who were outside their riding on election day, and those who cast at a district electoral office, will be counted in this final count.
READ MORE: B.C. to begin counting mail-in ballots Friday, will take at least three days