Dudley to preside over recount of County Council votes

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Jun. 13—ANDERSON — Judge Mark Dudley will preside over the requested recount for the Republican Party nomination for the 2nd District seat on the Madison County Council.

Dudley, the judge in Madison County Circuit Court Division 6, agreed to oversee the recount case requested by Devin Norrick who lost by three votes to current Councilwoman Diana Likens in the May 3 primary election.

The preliminary results on Election Day indicated Likens won by five votes.

But the certified numbers from the Madison County Clerk's office showed a three-vote victory for Likens.

The latest numbers show Likens received 1,271 votes to Norrick's 1,268, with the winning amount determined in the last precinct counted on election night.

Before the last precinct was counted, Norrick had a five-vote lead.

The recount has to be completed by June 24.

Norrick said Monday that he hopes the recount will take place next week, now that Judge Dudley has agreed to preside.

A three-member Recount Commission consisting of a Republican, Democrat and a member of the Election Board technical staff will conduct the recount.

Russ Willis, chairman of the Madison County Republican Party, has submitted the names of Kelli Heuer, Kevin Sulc and Jim Abraham to represent the party on the commission.

Dudley will pick one member from the GOP's list and one from the Democratic list, once it's submitted. He'll also pick the technical staff member.

The ballots in 26 precincts have to be counted, and all 30 vote center results have to be reviewed to obtain all the ballots cast in Council District 2.

The last recount in Madison County was in the 2019 general election for Anderson.

That year, Republican Art Pepela Jr. requested the recount after losing to Democrat Lance Stephenson by 14 votes for the 5th District seat on the Anderson City Council.

The appointed Recount Commission counted the ballots by hand; there was no change in the results.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.