The NDP’s formal request for a recount in the district of St. John’s East-Quidi Vidi suggests thousands of votes may be invalid. Party Leader Alison Coffin lost the seat by just 53 votes to Liberal John Abbott.

The party says it has serious concerns about the voting process which was disrupted by COVID-19.

Chief among them was the restriction of one scrutineer to monitor the counting of ballots, as well as ballots cast before the March 25 deadline but received after that date and thus not counted.

The party alleges many ballots were sent out after simple requests over the phone, without proper verification or identification. They say some votes were wrongly rejected, and others weren’t received by voters despite numerous requests.

The party’s lone scrutineer also claims she was prevented from viewing the tally sheets by staff who shielded them from her.

The request for a recount in the district is being watched closely as a test case for other potential court challenges linked to the election.