(INDIANAPOLIS) – Two months after Election Day, a recount of Indiana’s closest state legislative primary is underway.
Hamilton County Councilman Fred Glynn is the apparent nominee for the newly-created seat, which covers an area in and around Carmel plus a sliver of Indianapolis. He edged former Department of Energy advisor Suzie Jaworowski by six votes out of more than 4,000 cast.
Both candidates were on hand for the start of the recount at the Marion County Election Board Service Center in Indianapolis, along with watchers for both campaigns. State Board of Accounts auditors have fewer than 200 ballots to review there before shifting operations to Noblesville to tackle the far larger number of votes in Hamilton County.
State examiner Paul Joyce says auditors are doing two things: they’re verifying the votes were counted correctly, and they’re giving the campaigns the chance to flag ballots they believe were wrongly included or excluded. The three-member Indiana Recount Commission will decide any challenges, probably next week.
While Marion County uses paper ballots, Hamilton County uses electronic voting machines. Joyce says the task there will be to verify that each machine is tallying ballots correctly, then review the vote totals for each machine. In both counties, candidates may raise questions about eligibility issues such as whether a voter’s signature matches the pollbook.
Both candidates say they’re satisfied with the thoroughness and transparency of the recount process. Glynn says he expects his victory will be upheld. Jaworowski isn’t making any predictions, but says it’s important to be able to double-check the results in such a razor-thin race.
The winner will face Democrat Victoria Wilburn in November in what’s considered a potential swing district.
