Candidates not present for today's Thornhill vote recount
UPDATE: Recount process continues in Newmarket Tuesday

YorkRegion.com
June 23, 2014
Simone Joseph

The Thornhill recount is nearly finished, but will continue Tuesday in Newmarket court.

"The speed was remarkable," Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa said at about 3:30 this afternoon, speaking to the officials and scrutineers responsible for today's recount at La Vedette convention centre. All but one poll has now been counted.

The process continues tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. in front of Justice Tetley in Newmarket court.

Lawyers representing the PC and Liberal candidates will argue their case, as Justice Tetley goes through the disputed ballots.

Officials estimate that the process will be finished — and results known — by Tuesday afternoon.

Judge leaves proceedings after falling ill

The judge presiding over the recount - Justice Tetley - has taken ill and had to leave the recount proceedings.

Part way through the morning, there were murmurings of an ambulance outside, however, no one was allowed out of or into the recount room.

Judge Tetley has asked Chief Electoral Officer Greg Essensa to take over.

Mr. Essensa predicts the manual vote recount will be done by this evening.

However, any disputed ballots will still have to be decided upon by Justice Tetley, he said at lunchtime today. Mr. Essensa is not sure when Justice Tetley will consider these ballots, but said Justice Tetley plans to do this Tuesday morning.

Recount involves 120 people

“We are not alone in this room today,” Justice Peter Tetley tells a room of people at La Vedette Convention Centre in Thornhill, gathered for an official Elections Ontario recount.

Liberal candidate Sandra Yeung Racco and PC candidate and incumbent Thornhill MPP Gila Martow are not present, but Yeung Racco’s husband has been spotted outside the ballroom, which is today the official recount location.

There are about 150 people present this morning. At each table, there are four people, including two Elections Ontario representatives doing the counting, one Liberal representative and one Conservative overseeing the recounting done by the Elections Ontario representatives.

There are 30 with four at each table, so about 120 people are involved and physically going through the ballots and doing the recount. The recount process is expected to be finished today.

While neither Martow nor Yeung Racco are here today, each are allowed to have two lawyers present, said Jack Siegel, a lawyer for the Liberal Party.

“I wouldn’t recommend a candidate put themselves under that stress," said Siegel of Blaney McMurtry.

On election night, June 12, Yeung Racco was declared the winner by 85 votes.

A data entry error was discovered during the official tabulation by Elections Ontario the next day, and Martow was declared the winner of the riding, also by 85 votes.

This was followed by Yeung Racco’s team asking for a judicial recount, which was granted last week and taking place today.