After an inventory of absentee ballots from last month’s Cherokee Nation principal chief election, members of Chief Chad Smith’s camp say officials found some inconsistencies.
In last month’s election, longtime councilmember Bill John Baker was originally unofficially deemed the next principal chief, winning by 11 votes; however, the next day the election commission officially certified the results, which named Smith the election winner by seven votes. After a recount, the title was given back to Baker, naming him the winner by 266 votes.
Smith sought help from the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court to appeal the recount. The court ordered an inventory of absentee ballots and envelopes over the weekend.
Mike Miller, a spokesperson for Smith, said officials found that the recount was not accurate after the inventory was taken Sunday.
During the inventory, officials found that 265 ballots were missing from the recount.
Full Article: Inventory of votes discovers ballots missing during recount.