Recount results are in for Muscogee school board election. Initial margin was two votes
Muscogee County election officials conducted a recount Friday after both candidates for the District 7 seat on the Muscogee County School District Board urged the election board to conduct the recount to provide the public confidence in the two-vote margin.
And after the recount took about 1 1/2 hours, the same result was certified in the special election that was announced Tuesday night: Patricia Frey received 147 votes to 145 for Laketha Ashe.
Columbus NAACP chapter president Wane Hailes also spoke to the board as an advocate for the recount.
Georgia law allows the losing candidate in the initial tally to request a recount within two business days following the certification of the election results if the margin is not more than one-half of 1%. The two-vote margin in this election, however, didn’t meet that threshold. One-half of 1% out of the 292 votes is 1.46 votes.
Although the election board received no allegations of errors or discrepancy, Muscogee elections director Nancy Boren said, the board has discretion to order a recount regardless of the circumstances.
After several minutes of discussion, election board member Linda Parker’s first motion for a recount failed for lack of a second. But after several more minutes of discussion, Parker received support from the two other election board members in attendance: vice chairman U.D. Roberts and Edwin Roldan.
Chairwoman Margaret Jenkins and Diane Scrimpshire are the election board’s two other members. They were absent from the meeting.
Frey and Ashe shared with the Ledger-Enquirer their reaction to the board’s decision and why they asked for the recount.
“It just puts everybody’s fears, everybody’s concerns to rest,” Frey said. “I hope this creates more momentum that, hey, the system was challenged, but the system works, especially with what (U.S. elections) have gone through in the past couple of years.”
“I just want to thank them for doing the recount,” Ashe said. “It’s not for me. I just want to make sure everything is transparent. … Maybe we could get more out to vote based on this information.”
The turnout for this election was 2.1% of the 13,653 registered voters in District 7.
In interviews with the Ledger-Enquirer, Parker and Roberts explained why they voted for the recount.
“I wanted it so that people in this community could see that our system works,” Parker said. “Because it was so close — two votes — I think it was warranted.”
Roberts initially expressed concern about setting a precedent for ordering a recount when the law says it isn’t required, but “I wanted to have unity on the board,” he said. “… Both candidates wanted the recount. … Sometimes you have to get away from what’s just the lawful thing to do and do what’s best for the community. … Sometimes you have to show mercy or grace or just do what’s right.”
Asked how much the recount will cost, Boren told the Ledger-Enquirer the expenses still were being calculated, but she estimated it would be at least $2,000.
“But the confidence in the system is priceless,” Boren said.
Also on Friday, the board released a breakdown of the election-day vote in each of District 7’s six precincts, which Frey led 110-92 after Ashe led the advance and absentee voting 53-37:
Frey won the Wynnton (39-6), First African (41-8) and Epworth (6-0) precincts.
Ashe won the Cusseta Road (6-0), Our Lady of Lourdes (65-20) and Gallops (7-4) precincts.
Ashe and Frey were newcomers as political candidates. The vacancy on the MCSD board was created when District 7 representative Cathy Williams resigned, effective April 1, to join the 14-member Georgia Department of Transportation Board.
She received the most votes for the appointment among the 24 state legislators whose districts are in or contiguous to the 2nd Congressional District.
