93(1)If a ballot box, a vote tabulation machine or a statement of votes cast has been destroyed, lost or for any other reason is not returned to the returning officer before the day fixed for candidates to be declared elected, the returning officer shall determine the cause of the poll material’s disappearance and shall obtain from the responsible poll supervisor, or from any other person who has it, a copy of the statement of votes cast, which shall be verified on oath.

93(2)If the returning officer is unable to locate a copy of a statement of votes cast under subsection (1), the returning officer, in the presence of an election clerk and of the candidates or their representatives who are present, may open the appropriate ballot box to retrieve the statement of votes cast contained in it and shall immediately reseal the ballot box.

93(3)If the statement of votes cast or a copy cannot be obtained, the returning officer shall determine the total number of votes given for each candidate at each polling station by the evidence that he or she is able to obtain.

93(4)In order to make a determination under subsection (3), the returning officer may do the following:

93(5)If the returning officer intends to proceed under subsection (4), he or she shall give adequate notice of the day and time of the proceedings to each of the candidates.

93(6)In a case under subsection (1) or (3), the returning officer shall do the following:

93(7)A person who refuses or neglects to attend on the summons of a returning officer issued under this section is guilty of an offence.

93(1)If a ballot box, a vote tabulation machine or a statement of votes cast has been destroyed, lost or for any other reason is not returned to the returning officer before the day fixed for candidates to be declared elected, the returning officer shall determine the cause of the poll material’s disappearance and shall obtain from the responsible poll supervisor, or from any other person who has it, a copy of the statement of votes cast, which shall be verified on oath.

93(2)If the returning officer is unable to locate a copy of a statement of votes cast under subsection (1), the returning officer, in the presence of an election clerk and of the candidates or their representatives who are present, may open the appropriate ballot box to retrieve the statement of votes cast contained in it and shall immediately reseal the ballot box.

93(3)If the statement of votes cast or a copy cannot be obtained, the returning officer shall determine the total number of votes given for each candidate at each polling station by the evidence that he or she is able to obtain.

93(4)In order to make a determination under subsection (3), the returning officer may do the following:

93(5)If the returning officer intends to proceed under subsection (4), he or she shall give adequate notice of the day and time of the proceedings to each of the candidates.

93(6)In a case under subsection (1) or (3), the returning officer shall do the following:

93(7)A person who refuses or neglects to attend on the summons of a returning officer issued under this section is guilty of an offence.

93(1)If the ballot boxes are not all returned on the day fixed for the official addition of the votes given to the several candidates, the returning officer shall adjourn the proceedings to a subsequent day, which shall be not more than one week later than the day originally fixed for the purpose of such addition of votes.

93(2)In case the statement of the poll for any polling station cannot be found and the number of votes cast thereat cannot be ascertained, or if, for any other cause, the returning officer cannot, at the day and hour appointed by him for that purpose, ascertain the exact number of votes given for each candidate, he may thereupon adjourn to a future day and hour the official addition of the votes given for each candidate, and so from time to time, such adjournments not in the aggregate to exceed two weeks.

93(3)If the ballot boxes, or any of them, have been destroyed or lost or for any other reason are not forthcoming within the time fixed by this Act, the returning officer shall ascertain the cause of the disappearance of such ballot boxes, and shall obtain from each of the deputy returning officers whose ballot boxes are missing, or from any other persons having them, a copy of the statement of the poll furnished to the candidates or scrutineers or electors representing recognized parties or independent candidates as required by this Act, the whole verified on oath.

93(4)If such statement of the poll or copies thereof cannot be obtained, the returning officer shall ascertain, by such evidence as he is able to obtain, the total number of votes given for each candidate at the several polling stations, and to that end may summon any deputy returning officer, poll clerk or any other person to appear before him at a day and hour to be named by him and to bring all necessary papers and documents with him, of which day and hour and of the intended proceedings the candidates shall be given due notice; and the returning officer may examine on oath such deputy returning officer, poll clerk or other person respecting the matter in question.

93(5)In case of an adjournment by reason of any deputy returning officer not having placed in the ballot box a statement of the poll, the returning officer shall, in the meantime, use all reasonable efforts to ascertain the exact number of votes given for each candidate at the polling station of such deputy returning officer, and, to that end, has the powers set out in subsection (4).

93(6)In any case under subsection (3), (4), or (5) the returning officer shall declare elected the candidate appearing to have the largest number of votes, and shall mention specially, in a report to be sent to the Chief Electoral Officer with his return of the votes, the circumstances accompanying the disappearance of the ballot boxes, or the want of any statement of the poll, and the mode by which he ascertained the number of votes given for each candidate.

93(7)Any person who refuses or neglects to attend on the summons of a returning officer issued under this section, is guilty of an offence.

93(8)When the official addition of the votes has been completed, the official statements of the poll, or copies thereof used as such addition, will be arranged in the order of the entry upon the recapitulation sheets and kept ready for transmission to the Chief Electoral Officer.

93(9)As the ballot boxes are opened and their contents dealt with as indicated in subsection 92(4) the large envelopes containing the various documents that make up the returns from every polling station shall be placed in several of the ballot boxes, the ballot boxes shall be sealed and a special tag in the form prescribed by regulation shall be attached to each ballot box containing such large envelopes.

93(10)On such tags will be inserted the name of the electoral district and the numbers of the polling stations from which the returns contained in such large envelopes were received.

93(11)The returning officer shall insert the serial numbers of the metal or plastic seals affixed to every ballot box containing the large envelopes in the space provided for that purpose on the certificate of the result of voting, in the prescribed form.

93(12)Until the time has come to send the election documents to the Chief Electoral Officer, every ballot box containing large envelopes will be kept in a safe place so that no person except the returning officer and the election clerk can have access to them.

93(13)The returning officer shall, if a recount is ordered under section 94, take the sealed ballot boxes containing the large envelopes to the place of recount as ordered by the judge.

93(14)The returning officer shall, if no recount is ordered, on the seventh day following the official addition of the votes, remove the large envelopes from the ballot boxes and transmit them to the Chief Electoral Officer in special boxes or containers provided for that purpose, which boxes or containers shall be closed and sealed in such manner as the Chief Electoral Officer prescribes.