Ward 4 City Council: Eaton Files for Recount

Candidate Jack Eaton has filed for a recount of ballots cast in the Aug. 7, 2012 Democratic primary election for Ward 4 Ann Arbor city council.

According to Washtenaw County director of elections Ed Golembiewski, the recounting of the physical ballots will likely be scheduled for early in the week beginning Aug. 27, depending on the availability of members on the board of canvassers. That would accommodate the 7-day requirement to allow other candidates involved to file objections.

The other candidate involved was incumbent Margie Teall. The final results across the nine precincts of Ward 4 showed Eaton with a total of 848 (49.5%) votes, compared to 866 (50.5%) for Teall. That’s a difference of just 18 votes.

A recount costs the candidate requesting a recount $10 per precinct. So to recount all of Ward 4 would cost $90. If the recount changes the outcome of the election, that fee is returned to the candidate.

Recent recounts in area elections include: (1) the August 2008 Ward 5 city council Democratic primary contested between Vivienne Armentrout and Carsten Hohnke (58 votes); (2) the August 2009 Ward 3 city council Democratic primary contested among LuAnne Bullington, Leigh Greden and Stephen Kunselman (6 votes); and (3) the 2010 District 11 Washtenaw County board of commissioners Democratic primary between Yousef Rabhi and Michael Fried (1 vote).

In those recounts, the final vote total did not change by more than a couple of votes, and none of the outcomes changed.

Members of the board of canvassers who will oversee the recount are: Tony DeMott (Republican), Melodie Gable (Republican), Ulla Roth (Democrat) and Frances Brennan (Democrat). [.pdf of recount process]