Stockbridge Updates asked the Stockbridge Town Administrator: Will there be a recount?

A recount petition has been received by the Town, thus a recount will occur

June 2, at 9:00 a. m. Should take less than 2 hours. During the recount, just like on election day the votes will be counted, certified by the registrars, and the candidates will be notified within 24 hours. All votes were counted (on election day). There were four votes that were hand counted on election day, once again, all votes were counted and will be counted again.

Here is the Recount Process

Part One: Before the Recount

• Petitioning for a Recount — Candidates may initiate a recount by petitioning the town clerk
• Filing Procedure — Recount petitions must be filed with town clerk by (Date)
• Certification — After examining the petition, statement and certifying the registration of the signers, recount is scheduled.
• Setting the Date for the Recount — Recount time and place are selected, and three days written notice sent to each candidate.
• Prepare for the Recount — June 2, 2022, at 9:00 a. m.

Part Two: The Recount

• The Recount — The registrars or election commissioners sit as “judges” of the protested ballots; they do not tally the vote, but they may appoint the number of clerks considered necessary to do the actual recounting. In addition to clerks who read the ballot (ballot readers) and clerks who record the vote on the tally sheet (tally clerks), there should be “runners” to bring the protested ballots to the registrars for examination and decision.
• Paper Ballot Recount Procedures — Hand Count has been requested — Where paper ballots are used, the boxes should be brought into the room one at a time and an envelope containing a block of 50 ballots with its tally sheet should be delivered to each counting team one at a time.
• The Will of the Voters — All parties to a recount should keep in mind in their examination of the ballots that the will of the voters, if it can be determined with reasonable certainty, must be given effect. If the marks on the ballot fairly indicate the voter’s intent, the vote should be counted in accordance with that intent, as long as the voter has essentially complied with the election law.
• Protested Ballots — When a ballot is protested by any agent, the tally clerk should not record the vote. The tally clerk should call the runner to take the ballot to the registrars’ table where they make their determination in the presence of the candidates’ counsels
• When the Recount is Complete — The registrars then make and sign a statement of their determination of the results of the recount. All the materials and the statement are returned to the city or town clerk or election commissioners, who must amend all records that have been found in error. The amended records stand as the true record of the election.

Part Three: After the Recount

• If it appears as a result of a recount that a different person was elected than the one declared to be elected, the registrars will sign a certificate of that fact, including the number of votes for each candidate, and file it with the town clerk. The town clerk will record the certificate and, within 24 hours, deliver a copy of the certificate both to the candidate originally declared to be elected and to the candidate who by the recount certificate appears to be elected.
  
  Stockbridge Updates will send a News Alert if the recount changes the outcome.
  
  If the result remains the same, SU will not send a news alert