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Final election tally shows Darcy took 48.7 per cent of vote in city

NDP candidate Judy Darcy garnered nearly half the votes cast in New Westminster in the May 14 provincial election. Elections B.C. released final voting results this week after counting absentee ballots. Darcy received 13,026 valid votes (48.

NDP candidate Judy Darcy garnered nearly half the votes cast in New Westminster in the May 14 provincial election.

Elections B.C. released final voting results this week after counting absentee ballots. Darcy received 13,026 valid votes (48.70 per cent of the popular vote), followed by Liberal candidate Hector Bremner with 8,944 (33.44 per cent), Green candidate Terry Teather with 2,241 votes (8.38 per cent), B.C. Conservative candidate Paul Forseth with 1,307 votes (4.89 per cent), independent candidate James Crosty with 1,043 votes (3.90 per cent), and Libertarian candidate Lewis Dalhby with 189 votes (0.71 per cent).

Following the May 14 election, Elections B.C. officials sorted through the absentee ballots and sent them to ridings throughout B.C. where they were counted this week.

"You can vote anywhere in the entire province," said Vicki Bradbury, chief electoral officer for New Westminster.

The final count was a continuation of a process that's been underway for months before the election, including training 500 people to work the election in New Westminster, establishing voting places and planning for an enumeration that occurred in March.

"A lot goes on behind the scenes to make it all happen," Bradbury said. "It is a really good system."

One of the initiatives included outreach to ensure that people living in shelters and attending soup kitchens had the opportunity to vote.

"All the shelter and soup kitchens supported the enumeration. We go out to the locations," Bradbury said. "How many of them voted, I don't know. They registered. The soup kitchen and shelter did a great job. I was thrilled."

tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com