About 3,200 ballots that were not recorded in the initial Nov. 5 General Election reports could change the outcome of three Leelanau County Board of Commissioners races and may show that the Republican Party reclaimed the board majority.
Republican candidates Mark Walter, Will Bunek, and Alan Campbell now appear to be the winners of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th districts. Previously, their Democrat opponents — Scott Perry, Lois Bahle, and incumbent commissioner Kama Ross — were the unofficial winners of these races.
Leelanau County’s unofficial election results page was updated Nov. 8 at about 7 p.m. to include over a thousand ballots that were not recorded, according to county Clerk Michelle Crocker. The total number of ballots cast increased from 16,253 to 17,827, which was enough to shift the scales in several elections.
The following results still need to be officiated by the board of canvassers, which reconvenes Wednesday morning. The results should be certified Thursday or Friday after the board reviews writein votes and Military and Oversees Voter Empowerment (MOVE) ballots, Crocker said.
Crocker said that all early, in-person voting ballots were inputted into the system correctly on Election Day. The election administrators expected these votes to override entries from an Oct. 17 election accuracy test, but these sample votes appeared in the Statement of Votes Cast instead. She said the Board of Canvassers discovered the error late Friday afternoon.
“There was no missed batch,” Crocker said. “The upload was done consistently, the same for each election and each precinct, (but) did not record on the reports generated, and was discovered during canvass. … This shows the process of canvassing works.”
Walter, who served as District No. 2 commissioner from 2002 to 2008, was initially shown in the unofficial results as losing to newcomer Perry. With the new batch of ballots, he is now shown to be ahead by 148 votes with 1,217 votes to Perry’s 1,069. Perry was shown to be ahead by 11 votes at 4 a.m. Wednesday.
Reacting to the changing results, Perry said he may petition for a recount, which he is permitted to do under Michigan Compiled Law Act 168.862.
“I’m surprised to learn the result and disappointed in the process, but I’m sure they’re getting to the bottom of it.” Perry said. “I’m waiting to learn more about the situation, but (requesting a recount) may be in the cards.”
“I had people calling me about a recount, but I don’t have to do that now. I’m pleasantly surprised. Like I said, I have faith in the process,” Walter said. “They’re very efficient – obviously they are, because they caught it. … Since they followed the practice, they caught the mistake. That’s what they get paid to do.”
Bunek, another former commissioner, jumped ahead of Bahle by a slim margin of seven votes. Where Bahle was ahead with 1,114 votes for Bahle and 973 votes for Bunek, the updated results from Friday night show Bunek winning with 1,325 votes to Bahle’s 1,318 votes.
“I’m not getting really excited about it until we know… it’s still very close,” Bunek said. “But I feel a lot better now than I did last night.”
“It’s very disturbing,” Bahle said Friday night. “Michelle said there are still ballots that could come in until Tuesday. You have to let the system play out to that point, and then decide. … If it’s as close as it is, I kind of owe it to my constituents to request a recount.”
Crocker said that there weren’t enough MOVE ballots in District No. 3 to affect the outcome of this race, with just three overseas ballots as of Tuesday. Canvassing still needs to be completed as of the time of writing, but she expects Bunek to be shown as the winner in the official results.
And in District No. 5, incumbent commissioner Ross is now behind Republican challenger Campbell by 45 votes. On Wednesday morning, Ross was leading with 1,097 votes to Campbell’s 1,037 votes, but now she’s behind with Campbell at 1,320 votes.
“News that votes were not included in the total for Leelanau County comes as a surprise and a joy. My understanding is that I received more votes in Leland and Centerville townships, which was very important to me,” Campbell said. “I had many supporters who made this possible. I want to thank them and of course constituents who have entrusted me to represent them.”
“I’m not talking with media,” Ross said. “Too many unanswered questions and no direct communication.”
