As Chief Electoral Officer Lowell Croken watched the 2011 provincial election ballot boxes burning earlier this week, you could almost see a weight lifting from his shoulders.
Standing at Island Waste Management's burn site on Riverside Drive, he kept watch over public works employees who tossed each ballot box into a front loader, which then dumped the boxes into an incinerator.
Despite being surrounded by mounds of trash, an icy chill in the February air, Croken was was all smiles. This was the culmination of over a year of work.
“Once the ballot boxes are burned, I know that the 2011 election, regardless of anything, is behind us. It isn't over 'till it's over, and this says it's over.”
Up until this week, every single one of the over the 74,000 ballots cast in all 319 polls across the Island last October was still sitting in ballot boxes piled to the ceiling at the Elections P.E.I. office in Charlottetown.
The official election results have long been declared, but the province's Election Act orders the chief electoral officer to retain all election documents for at least 3 months. If the election is not contested, the ballots must then be destroyed.
But ballot boxes are sealed on election night and can only be opened by a judge with a court order. This makes burning the boxes the only way of disposing of the votes while still adhering to the law.
“It respects the confidentiality of the vote and it lets everyone know that voted that no one's going to see inside a ballot box, other than a judge.”
Croken takes his job as the officer responsible for all-things-election very seriously. Every election is a lot of work, a lot of preparation and with many hard and fast rules to keep under a tremendous amount of scrutiny. But Croken said one of the most challenging parts of his job is actually just trying to convince the public their votes are confidential.
He said many Islanders have come into his office, asking about the list of electors, the voting process and the numbers ballots, convinced there is some way someone could find out how they voted.
“It's a completely private, confidential process,” Croken said.
“We take the protection of confidentiality very seriously.”
That's why, although it's not officially part of his job, he personally picks up every ballot box following an election. He and one of his staffers take a van and visit all 319 polls, pick up the boxes and debrief with the returning officers.
“We could hire someone to do that work. But we choose to do that,” Croken said.
“This way we know we have everything. We've always done it.... Being a small jurisdiction, we're hands-on for everything.”
And he was hands-on the day of the 'confidential burn' in Charlottetown. Dressed uncharacteristically in blue jeans, he helped load the hundreds of ballot boxes into a cube van. Then, at IWMC he made sure every single box was loaded into the incinerator.
Everyone gasped when the wind took one of the boxes and it fell to the cement ground, spilling its contents. Croken immediately ran and gathered up the manilla envelopes holding the votes, a few sheets of paper, pens and rolls of scotch tape that had been in the box and put them back inside.
“This is why I'm here,” he said.
He inspected the box and pointed to seven initialled seals that had been placed around the opening.
“Even with seven seals it opened, so everyone did everything right.”
He then personally placed the box in the truck and kept watch even more intently as it went immediately into the incinerator.
Afterward, he admitted this has never happened before.
“You just never know what may happen. That's why I said, 'It's not over 'till it's over.'”
This marked the end of Croken's last provincial election, as he plans to retire in December.
He looked relieved when the last boxes were loaded into the fire.
“Someone asked me earlier this week, 'If we see puffs of white smoke rising from the ballots, does that mean they've named a new chief electoral officer?'” Croken said, laughing.
“I thought that was a pretty good joke.”
my my someone didn't get the results they wanted! shredding and recycling is a better fate for the ballots.