A British Columbia political scientist says social media questioning of the provincial election香蕉视频直播檚 integrity is an 香蕉视频直播渋nevitable香蕉视频直播� result of political 香蕉视频直播渢oxicity香蕉视频直播� and a tight race.

University of British Columbia professor emeritus Richard Johnston says questions about mail-in votes and the handling of ballots also reflect circumstances south of the border.

He said other factors include use of more complicated voting apparatus and social media platforms where anyone can publish doubts.

香蕉视频直播淭here is a relationship between the closeness of results and the toxicity of the commentary around it,香蕉视频直播� Johnston said.

香蕉视频直播淚 mean, we香蕉视频直播檙e describing almost exactly the situation in the U.S., right? Basically a 50/50 result, so close that each side might have suspicions about the other.香蕉视频直播�

The British Columbia election came down to absentee ballots on Monday, after neither Premier David Eby香蕉视频直播檚 NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives, led by John Rustad, secured a majority.

After a count of mail-in votes over the weekend saw prospects for an NDP victory increase, online posts questioned the number of mail-in and absentee votes, the ballots香蕉视频直播� origins, the wait between the initial and final counts, and how the votes were handled during that time.

B.C. Conservatives president Aisha Estey said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday that she 香蕉视频直播渟pent the last two days in a warehouse watching the transcription and counting of mail-in ballots,香蕉视频直播� and saw nothing problematic.

香蕉视频直播淓lections BC staff have been working tirelessly and doing their best within the confines of the legislation that governs their work,香蕉视频直播� Estey said in her post.

香蕉视频直播淲ould we have liked mail-ins to be counted closer to E-Day? Sure. But I saw nothing that caused me concern.香蕉视频直播�

Premier and B.C. New Democrat Leader David Eby also took to X on Sunday to express support for Elections BC staff 香蕉视频直播渕aking sure every vote gets counted.香蕉视频直播�

Elections BC did not respond directly to questions about the integrity of the process, only saying that the final vote count was continuing on Monday.

Johnston said Elections BC香蕉视频直播檚 efforts to make voting more accessible and counting more efficient had actually been feeding integrity doubts.

He said increased use of advance voting, mail-in and absentee ballots, as well as digital vote tabulation, were being compared unfavourably by some with more basic voting and hand-counting systems used in the past.

香蕉视频直播淏asically, the whole voting process was simpler,香蕉视频直播� Johnston said. 香蕉视频直播淵ou had to turn up on election day. You had to have a reason for voting in advance polls 香蕉视频直播� and you really had to basically make a declaration that you were going to have either a surgical procedure or you could not avoid being out of the constituency on election day.

香蕉视频直播淭he count may take a long time on election day if it香蕉视频直播檚 a particularly close riding,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淏ut 香蕉视频直播� there香蕉视频直播檚 a sense in which all the players who were on the ballot were in a position that was easily interpretable as verifying the facts. Everybody had an interest in defending its side, and the result would be in a sense accurate and fair.香蕉视频直播�

Dominion Voting Systems, which manufactured the electronic tabulators used in the B.C. election, referred questions to its website page dedicated to misinformation about the company and its technology. It addresses concerns about misinformation that emerged after the U.S. presidential election in 2020.

Fox News agreed last year to pay Dominion nearly US$800 million to avert a trial in the company香蕉视频直播檚 lawsuit that would have exposed how the network promoted lies about the election.

香蕉视频直播淎ll Dominion systems are based on voter-verifiable paper ballots or paper records for auditing,香蕉视频直播� the company said on its web page. 香蕉视频直播淒ominion systems comply with all requirements for system updates and election records retention.香蕉视频直播�

Johnston also said the very idea of making voting more accessible could create a 香蕉视频直播渂ackground for paranoia,香蕉视频直播� as doubters questioned the nature and origins of people who would not otherwise have been able to vote.

香蕉视频直播淗istorically, paranoia about the conduct of elections has hardly been peculiar to the right wing of the political landscape,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 also been a feature on the left. It kind of depends on who wins and who loses.

香蕉视频直播淚f you were to go back 20 years and look forward, I think a lot on the left would be shocked that it would be people on the left who are defending the integrity of the establishment, so to speak.香蕉视频直播�

One major difference with discourse in the United States, Johnston said, was that B.C. party leaders, such as Estey, had so far not engaged in 香蕉视频直播渄elegitimization tactics.香蕉视频直播�

Whether that changes would be something to watch for, he said.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檒l be interesting to see whether there香蕉视频直播檚 blowback from the fringes of the Conservative Party against the party香蕉视频直播檚 own leadership,香蕉视频直播� he said.

He added: 香蕉视频直播淟et香蕉视频直播檚 see whether there are any dynamics inside the Conservative Party over the next few days that makes John Rustad worried that perhaps the party president香蕉视频直播檚 acceptance of the process was premature from a political point of view.香蕉视频直播�