Little change in Columbia River–Revelstoke B.C. election final count

There has been little change in results after the final vote count in the B.C. election in the riding of Columbia River–Revelstoke.

The final count included mail-in and absentee ballots, which were not included in the initial count on election night. The final count started on Nov. 6 and concluded on Nov. 7.

Final count results for Columbia River–Revelstoke, Nov. 7:

Samson Boyer (BC Green Party): 1,904 votes, 13.00%
Nicole Cherlet (BC NDP): 5,708 votes, 38.97%
Doug Clovechok (BC Liberal Party): 7,034 votes, 48.03%

When expressed in percentages, the results of the final count are nearly the same as the initial count, which happened on election night. None of the candidates’ initial count and final count results varied by more than one percentage point.

Initial count on election night, Oct. 24:

Samson Boyer (BC Green Party): 1,546 votes, 13.03%
Nicole Cherlet (BC NDP): 4,551 votes, 38.35%
Doug Clovechok (BC Liberal Party): 5,770 votes, 48.62%

Major party results also mirror 2017 general election results in riding

The final results are also fairly similar to the final result in the riding in the 2017 election. That year, in addition to BC Greens, BC Liberals, and BC NDP candidates, there were two independent candidates and one Libertarian candidate.

Together, the two independent and one Libertarian candidate garnered 6.82% of the vote. With only three main parties fielding candidates in 2020, each of them gained a small bump in total percentage.

Compared to 2017, in 2020 the BC Greens increased from 11.72% to 13.00%; the BC NDP increased from 36.02% to 38.97%; and the BC Liberals increased from 45.44% to 48.03%.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented wave of mail-in ballots. In Columbia River–Revelstoke, 3,019 mail-in ballot packages were issued. A total of 2,284 of those mail-in ballots were returned and counted.

The total number of valid votes in the 2020 B.C. election, 14,646, was up slightly from 2017, when the total was 14,570.

Elections BC estimates that at least 52.4% of registered voters voted in the 2020 Provincial General Election across the province.

For our analysis on the election results in this riding, see our story from Oct. 25.

Eight reasons why Columbia River–Revelstoke defied B.C. 2020 election expectations