After a lengthy waiting period and multiple interruptions, the Democrat primary election for District 2 county commissioner will finally be decided with a hand recount of the ballots.
The recount for that position stems from a dramatic primary race between three Democrats.
Initially, VRE noticed that the vote counts were incorrectly displayed and that candidate Michelle Long Spears had received zero votes, prompting the initial recount.
“Notice is hereby given of a hand count tabulation of all ballots cast in the May 24, 2022 Democratic primary for the Commission District 2 seat,” said a May 28 press release from the DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections (VRE) committee. “Said hand count will continue until completed and will be open to the public for observation from designated locations.”
That was the second press release the VRE sent Saturday.
The first was an announcement of a recount of the votes from the disputed primary election that was to take place immediately.
But shortly after the first Saturday announcement, a glitch in the voting machines that were supposed to be used to tally the votes prevented the recount.
It was then moved to Sunday, where the votes were to be counted by hand, but the vote-counters reportedly only counted 12 of 40 precincts Sunday, prompting the recount to continue on into Monday.
The VRE is overseen by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office, which did not return a comment request from The Georgia Star News Monday.
Raffensperger’s office made waves in the race after an eleventh-hour cancellation of candidate Patty Durand’s candidacy.
Raffensperger determined that Durand did not meet the residency requirements to run for the seat.
But just before voting began, a judge issued a stay on Raffensperger’s order that allowed Durand to remain on the ballot, meaning she could remain on the ballot and collect votes in the primary.
The legal matter will be sorted out with the possibility that Durand wins the primary election but is disqualified from the general election.
Raffensperger is infamous for his spat with former President Donald Trump, who claims that voter fraud was rampant in the 2020 election in Georgia, causing him to lose the state to President Joe Biden.
Tuesday, Raffensperger won a hotly contested primary re-election bid against Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10).
_ _ _
Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Election Day 2020” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
