The Wayne County Board of Canvassers Tuesday began a recount of Detroit’s Aug. 6 primary election that was certified a week ago. A total of eight recount petitions were filed and accepted, including a request by Tom Barrow who said he seeks to uncover fraud in the effort. Barrow has raised a number of issues, including challengers who claim to have seen similar handwriting on a number of ballots. The Wayne County Clerk’s Office is not sure how long the recount will take, but by law it must be finished within the next 20 days, spokeswoman Jina Sawani said Tuesday. Barrow spokesman Geoffrey Garfield said things are “going on fine” so far, but he is not ready to say whether fraud will be discovered. In November 2009, Barrow requested a recount after losing to Mayor Dave Bing 58 percent to 42 percent and claimed voter fraud. The recount resulted in a change of few votes, but 60,000 regular and absentee ballots could not be recounted because of irregularities.
“It’s a long process. It may take up to two weeks, so it’s tough to make predictions on anything,” Garfield said. “But clearly there are some issues in improving the processes of how we conduct elections. … (As far as finding fraud), we’re just waiting until the end to make a final determination.”
Last Tuesday, the Board of State Canvassers voted unanimously to certify Detroit’s primary election results and declare former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan the top vote-getter in the Aug. 6 contest. He won 52 percent to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon’s 30 percent, and both are expected to face off in the Nov. 5 general election.
Full Article: Recount starts in Detroit primary races | The Detroit News.