The NDP candidate for Chester-St.Margaret’s is looking for answers from Elections Nova Scotia.
Denise Peterson-Rafuse lost in the May 30 provincial election by 91 votes to Liberal Hugh MacKay following this week’s judicial recount.
Peterson-Rafuse says she accepts the results but wants clarity from Elections NS after problems with voter information cards and people trying to vote at the wrong location.
She says it’s unacceptable.
“When you know that people were turned away because Elections Nova Scotia wasn’t ready for them you don’t want to see that happen in another election.”
Peterson-Rafuse claims Chester-St.Margaret’s did not have an advance poll while other ridings had two or three.
The NDP has written a letter to Elections Nova Scotia to outline their concerns.
Meanwhile, Elections Nova Scotia says it does everything it can to make things accessible for the public.
Director of Policy and Communications, Andy LeBlanc, says there are a small percentage of mistakes that occur on roughly 750,000 voter information cards.
He says 98 per cent of electors were within 25 minutes of a poll.
15 ridings didn’t have advance polls and LeBlanc says that’s not unusual.
He says there were early voting opportunities from a few days after the writ dropped until election day.
“The returning office which was located in Chester was the location where anyone could vote Monday through Saturday for the duration of the election period.”
There was also an early voting location in New Ross on May 26 and 27.
LeBlanc says people would only be turned away on election day if they weren’t voting at the proper poll.
He says voter information cards along with newspaper and radio advertising across Nova Scotia stated people could vote early anywhere in the province except May 29 and election day.
