Recount begins in Oklahoma County DA race; candidate Kevin Calvey hopes to avoid runoff

Kevin Calvey, who is running for Oklahoma County district attorney, talks to guests at a watch party at The Capitol View Event Center in Oklahoma City June 28.
Kevin Calvey, who is running for Oklahoma County district attorney, talks to guests at a watch party at The Capitol View Event Center in Oklahoma City June 28.

Ballot by ballot, a manual recount got underway Wednesday of the Republican primary votes for Oklahoma County district attorney.

The top vote-getter, Oklahoma County Commissioner Kevin Calvey, needs only a few more to avoid a runoff Aug. 23 with Gayland Gieger, a longtime Oklahoma County assistant district attorney.

More:Oklahoma County DA candidate Kevin Calvey asks for recount of Republican primary vote

Oklahoma County Election Board Secretary Doug Sanderson said the recount will take weeks.

At each of three tables Wednesday, the election board had a caller, a stacker and two talliers. Next to each table, both candidates had watchers.

The caller would announce the vote, hold the ballot up so the two watchers could see and then give it to the stacker. The first tallier would say and record the vote. The second tallier would do the same.

The first announcement came at 1:03 p.m. "No vote," the caller said after picking up the first ballot. "No vote," she said again after picking up the second. "Gieger," she said on the third.

That process will continue until all the ballots cast by Oklahoma County Republicans in the June 28 primary are checked. The machine count put the total cast in the DA race at 53,997.

Calvey, 55, asked for the recount Friday and said he paid $12,000 to make it happen. He is hoping to pick up votes the machines missed to give him 50% of the total cast, plus one. If he does, he will go on to the Nov. 8 general election.

Calvey stands now at 49.97%. He said again Wednesday that machines make mistakes.

"There were quite a few more ballots actually cast than were counted in this race, over 3,800," he said. "It's just a way to make sure that those machines counted them correctly. I will predict that there will be some difference.

"Whether that's going to be sufficient to change the outcome of the election, I don't know. We'll find out."

Sanderson said any marking in the "target" box on the ballot will be counted as a vote unless it goes into another box. A watcher can object to a caller's announcement, and the election board will make the final say, he explained.

The election board has a number of employees out because of COVID-19. Sanderson said he hopes to have more available for the recount later.

The recount began after Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman ruled the ballots had been properly preserved to avoid the possibility of vote tampering. The judge ruled after a sheriff's deputy testified the locked ballot boxes are kept in padlocked vaults at the county election board.

The deputy said he keeps the padlock key at all times.

Gieger, 55, asked a number of questions about ballot security because Sheriff Tommie Johnson has endorsed Calvey. Gieger said he was not making any accusations, but he did criticize the sheriff for not disclosing the "inherent conflict" to the judge.

Calvey ended up with 26,983 votes in the primary after provisional ballots were added Friday.

Gieger had 12,552, defense attorney Jacqui Ford had 7,804 and defense attorney Robert W. Gray had 6,658.

Already on the general election ballot in the DA spot is Democrat Vicki Behenna, a former federal prosecutor. The winner in November will take over in January. The incumbent, David Prater, is retiring after 16 years as the county's top prosecutor.

On Tuesday, Ford and Gray endorsed Calvey in the runoff.

Ford harshly criticized Gieger, saying he "refuses to consider new ideas or any changes to the status quo."

"This leaves victims, defendants and the community with no hope for meaningful justice," she said. "Voters have two choices in this runoff election. We can choose to continue the corruption and malfeasance of the David Prater era or we can restore ... credibility ... by electing Kevin Calvey who is committed to moving us forward in a meaningful and just way."

Gray called Calvey "a smart and seasoned lawyer who has proven himself as a conservative stalwart for more than 20 years."

Gieger said again Wednesday he can win in a runoff, even though he got only 23% of the primary vote.

"More people voted against Mr. Calvey than for Mr. Calvey," he said. "Now that there are two people in the race, it's a completely different race. ... As we continue to get our message out and we move forward, we're very optimistic about the future."

About Ford, Gieger said she contributed $250 to Joe Biden's successful presidential campaign and volunteered in 2020 to represent rioters for free. "If she wants to align herself with Mr. Calvey and he wants to tout her endorsement, I think that that's fine," Gieger said.

He also criticized Ford, and Calvey, for claiming there is corruption in the DA's office. "Like politicians do, they fail to identify specific facts to back up their claim," he said.

He said he is not surprised Gray is not endorsing him because he has beaten the defense attorney every time in court at trial.

"I am incredibly successful as a prosecutor, and the fact that they don't want me to run this office does not surprise me at all," Gieger said.

Ford told The Oklahoman in a text that Gieger had sought her endorsement. Gieger said he asked if she would be interested in supporting him.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Manual recount begins of GOP primary votes in Oklahoma County DA race