The Leelanau County Board of Canvassers certified the Nov. 5 general election results Saturday afternoon. The Statement of Votes Cast sent to Lansing differed from the unofficial results reported the morning after Election Day, with many more votes included.
The data from an Oct. 17 test was not deleted from a tabulator due to an oversight, causing more than 3,100 actual votes to initially go unreported. Canvassers caught this error Nov. 8 and added the missing votes, which were recorded separately, County Clerk Michelle Crocker said.
Adding these 3,156 votes changed the outcomes of many races. These include the county commissioners for districts No. 2, 3, and 5; the drain commissioner; three township trustees; and a Glen Lake school board member.
This came as a surprise to many, as the unofficial election results are often accurate, even when they still need to be certifi ed. According to the Michigan Bureau of Elections, local candidates can file a petition for a recount within six days of the completion of a county canvass.
Martha Shaver, a representative of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters who was watching the Board of Canvassers when the error was discovered, vouched for the accuracy of the final, official results. These can be found online at leelanau.gov/electionresults. asp.
“The Board of Canvassers has been meticulous in its review of each precinct’s processes and tabulation numbers prior to certifying the results. The League commends the county clerk, her staff, and all four canvassers for the mutual respect shown to each other, for their attentiveness to the task at hand, and completing the most important process in our democracy,” Shaver said.
Since the error was discovered, the remainder of the canvassing process saw greater interest and public scrutiny. Several candidates watched the canvassers in session at various times. Among the people in the audience were Tim McCalley, the Republican candidate for District No. 1 commissioner who lost the race to Democrat Rick Robbins by 175 votes.
When asked whether he was watching the Board of Canvassers meeting for more irregularities or planning to file a petition for a recount in his race, McCalley replied “all of the above.” Back in January, McCalley was one of a dozen people who petitioned the county board to present on “security flaws in our county’s computer election system,” regarding the 2020 election.
Many eyes are fixed on the District No. 3 commissioner race. The Nov. 6 results showed Democrat Lois Bahle defeating Republican Will Bunek with 1,114 to 973 votes. But in a dramatic reversal, Bunek narrowly passed Bahle by just seven votes Nov. 8. A single overseas vote for Bahle was added last week, so the results show Bunek at 1,325 votes and Bahle at 1,319 votes.
Bahle previously said she “owe(s) it to my constituents to request a recount,” and she confi rmed that she filed a recount petition Monday after the results were certified.
Both candidates for District No. 5, Republican Alan Campbell and Democrat Kama Ross, were present for public comment Saturday. The official results say Campbell defeated Ross 1,322 votes to 1,277 votes. As of Monday, Ross has not petitioned for a recount.
At Saturday’s Board of Canvassers meeting, Campbell congratulated himself and all the other candidates, including Ross, for “work(ing) hard. … Everyone who participated in this election process was a winner, in that people care so much about this county that they’re willing to invest their time, their effort, and their sweat towards the things that they believe in.”
“I’d like to echo the League of Women Voters and also congratulate the entire county. Because if our final figures show that we’re at 89.9% voter turnout, that’s a huge increase in our voter participation, which is definitely a good thing,” Ross said.
Rolf van Walthausen, who ran for Centerville Township trustee as a Democrat, was also there Wednesday. von Walthausen was initially shown as winning one of two trustee positions in the Nov. 6 election results, but he and Paul Winston were surpassed by Republicans Jolyn Arens and Kerry O’Non when the results were updated Nov. 8.
Another Democrat was shown as winning a trustee seat in Leland Township, but this was also undone with the added ballots. Kathryn Dawkins initially qualified for one of two trustee positions with the second-most votes of four candidates at 656 votes, but the official results show Mariann Kinch prevailed with 800 votes to Dawkins’ 777 votes. Dawkins said she will file for a recount.
“This was a goal of mine that I started working towards three years ago, and I’m going to carry it through the full way to know that the official vote count was what actually was cast,” Dawkins said. “I need to know that’s the correct vote count for me.”
Lisa Trombley, who was running as a Republican to represent Leelanau County along with Grand Traverse and Benzie counties in the state House of Representatives in Lansing, also was in the audience Wednesday. In Leelanau County, Trombley lost to incumbent Rep. Betsy Coffia with 8,381 votes to 9,109 votes, according to the official results.
Trombley said that she did not plan to file a petition for a recount in her race and was simply observing the canvassing process.
