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Recount possible in Hamilton council race

Other close contests include trustee races in Madison, Milford, Wester Chester and Wayne townships.

Submitted Timothy F. Naab

ENLARGE PHOTO

Submitted Z. Ann Rowe

ENLARGE PHOTO

Submittted Phil Morrical Jr.

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer Updated 12:06 AM Friday, November 6, 2009

HAMILTON — Three candidates may still be in the running for the third Hamilton City Council seat, depending on final, official results from the Butler County Board of Elections.

Those results could also determine who City Council appoints to serve the remaining two years of Mayor-elect Pat Moeller’s term.

Timothy F. Naab was declared the unofficial winner on election night, receiving 3,825 votes, or 13.73 percent. But Naab’s margin of victory over Z. Ann Rowe, who received 3,365 votes, or 12.08 percent, and Phil Morrical Jr., who received 3,356 votes, or 12.05 percent, may be close enough to require an automatic recount, according to Elections Director Betty McGary.

That’s just one of several close races Tuesday night that may require recounts. Trustees races in Madison, Milford, West Chester and Wayne townships all could hinge on provisional ballots, which won’t be counted until Nov. 16, McGary said.

“I believe that’s the most (possible recounts) I have seen in one single election,” she said.

There are 292 provisional ballots to be counted in Hamilton precincts. Plus, the elections office is still receiving absentee ballots that were postmarked by Tuesday. McGary said her office received 30 ballots Thursday.

“If the majority of provisional and absentee ballots go toward the fourth or fifth candidate, that’s going to change the entire complexion of the race,” McGary said of the Hamilton council race.

According to Ohio election laws, an automatic recount is determined in a race with two or more candidates by adding up their total votes, then taking half of 1 percent of that total. The margin of victory has to be less than the resulting calculation to require a recount.

McGary cautioned that all is speculative at this point and margins of victory are likely to get bigger after the final count is certified. Candidates can also request a recount, at a state-mandated cost of $50 per precinct.

In the past, Hamilton City Council has appointed the next highest vote-getter who wasn’t elected to fill a vacant seat, said Councilwoman Carla Fiehrer.

The last time it happened was 2001, when Councilman Archie Johnson was appointed to serve six months of Sharon Hughes’ unexpired term.

“It’s happened at least two previous times, but by charter, we’re open to anyone we would want to appoint,” Fiehrer said.

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No it states in the article "Candidates can also request a recount, at a state-mandated cost of $50 per precinct." We are all saying that if it comes to this, we know $50 will not cover all the recount expenses and that the candidate will just be wasting tax-payer money. We don't want another Al Gore whiner. If you lose, you lose. Just give it up already, you whiners.

d
11:44 PM, 11/7/2009

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What many of you are forgetting is that there are votes that still need to be counted. The question is not the closeness of the third and fourth spot. There is a chance that the candidates in fith and sixth place may gain enough votes to overcome fourth place which will be an issue when a fourth spot opens up at the end of this year. It is not Z.Ann's place to concede nor her choice if it comes to a recount. It is up to the board of elections.

d
4:50 PM, 11/6/2009

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$50 for a candidate to get a recount. Very simple here, if any candidate pays to get a recount with a 100+ vote margin, then they can expect to never be re-elected or elected again. I agree, we don't need another Al Gore.

Sharon
12:15 PM, 11/6/2009

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The article states an auto-recount takes place if the votes among the candidates is within 1/2% of their total #. That's 10546 + provisional + absentee. If all the prov & absentee are cast for 1 of these 3, the total is around 10,850. 1/2% is about 54 votes. Even if all incoming votes went to Rowe I don't think you get there. Unless I'm missing something, sounds like the suggestion of a recount is a little premature. I don't know if a candidate can request a recount if it's not that close.

E-me
11:46 AM, 11/6/2009

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Yeah, does this recount thing stink of the Al Gore crap? If it were a couple votes, I could understand. If it were 50 votes, maybe. If it were 100 votes, I don't know. But, c'mon! A 400 vote difference in a race where each person only received 3,300 votes?! Give it up and save the taxpayer's money!

mary
11:22 AM, 11/6/2009

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