A recall petition will be issued in the Vancouver-Quilchena electoral district, after Elections BC received a petition application that met the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act.

The subject of the recall petition is Dallas Brodie, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Quilchena. The proponent of the recall is Dorothy Cumming.

Elections BC administers the recall process under the Recall and Initiative Act. As a non-partisan office, Elections BC does not take a stance on any recall petition.

Under the Recall and Initiative Act, any registered voter in British Columbia can apply to have a recall petition issued for their electoral district. They must submit an application form, a $50 processing fee, and a statement of 200 words or less on why they feel the Member should be recalled. Applications must be approved if these legislated criteria are met. Elections BC does not evaluate petition applications on any other criteria.

The petition will be issued on May 21, at which time registered canvassers may begin collecting signatures. The petition must be returned to Elections BC no later than July 20.

The expenses limit for both the proponent and the Member is $36,177.69. The expenses limit for recall advertising sponsors is $6,398.60.

For the petition to be successful, registered canvassers must collect signatures from 40% or more of the voters eligible to sign the petition, or 15,232 voters. To be eligible to sign the petition, an individual must currently be a registered voter in British Columbia, and must have been a registered voter in the Vancouver-Quilchena electoral district on October 19, 2024 (Final Voting Day for the last provincial election).

After the proponent submits their signed petition sheets, Elections BC will begin the verification process. If the petition is submitted and it is clear the signature threshold has not been met, Elections BC will take no further action.

If the petition is submitted and it is possible that the signature threshold has been met, Elections BC will verify that only eligible individuals have signed the petition. As part of the verification process, Elections BC will contact a random sample of voters who signed the petition to confirm their signature. Elections BC has 42 days to complete the verification process. Elections BC allows both the proponent and the MLA to have observers present during the verification process to ensure integrity and transparency.

In the event of a successful recall petition, the recalled Member’s seat becomes vacant and a by-election must be called within 90 days. The recalled Member can run as a candidate in the by-election.

There have been 30 previous recall petition applications since the Recall and Initiative Act came into force in 1995. Six of those petitions were returned to Elections BC for verification. Of the six, five did not have enough valid signatures and one was halted during the verification process because the Member resigned.

There have been no previous recall petitions in Vancouver-Quilchena.