How are votes counted and validated?
After the polls close, every deputy returning officer counts the votes for his or her polling station, assisted by the poll clerk and witnessed by the candidates or their representatives. The deputy returning officer records the number of votes received by each candidate and the number of rejected ballots on a Statement of the Vote. The ballots and other election documents are then sealed in the ballot box and delivered to the returning officer. Validation of results Every returning officer validates the results by adding the totals given on each Statement of the Vote. The returning officer then delivers a certificate announcing the validated results to the candidates. In the absence of an application for a judicial recount, on the seventh day after the validation, he or she writes the name of the candidate who has received the most votes on the election writ, signs the writ and returns it to the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Judicial recounts A judicial recount occurs automatical
