Election loser says just call him 'Al'

By:David J. Mitchell, Daily Star Staff Writer
      INDEPENDENCE - Incumbent Town Council member Parnell "Butch" Baham was the odd man out of the 8-man council race at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. But then d unofficial results less than 12 hours later showed he regained his seat.
      Unofficial results from the Secretary of State's Office Wednesday indicate Baham edged challenger Dale Brouillette by six votes for the fifth and final council spot in Tuesday's election. Baham garnered 353 votes (12 percent) while Brouillette received 347 votes (12 percent).

      "From what I understood ... this thing gets more confusing," Brouillette said. "I'm starting to feel like Al Gore."

      The Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court's Office said test votes weren't cleared, Brouillette said.

      According to election officials, test votes left in the Secretary of State's computer system blocked out vote tallies in races in other municipalities such as Independence and Ponchatoula.

      "That's where the discrepancy is. I don't know whether I can contest it or not," he said. "They've given us so many different counts and admitted there was a problem. People were telling me they had problems voting."

      Baham said the confusion over the results was upsetting, although he is relieved to have regained his council seat. Tuesday was the first time Independence precincts had a problem with its machines.

      "The last two or three elections ... everything was fine. I want to know what happened this time," Baham said. "Doesn't seem no one can give me that answer. I wanted to know if it was something to do with the state's part or something to do with our part."

      Results Baham had taken Tuesday showed he was one of the top five vote getters, he said, but television reports and the Secretary of State showed him and everyone else with less votes than what they actually received.

      "They really need to investigate it and find out the problem so we won't have it again," he said.

      Baham maintains he does not know whether redistricting or Independence going from three to seven precincts played a role in the results. There had always been three precincts for elections, and there should not be a need for seven in a town with 1,200 registered voters.

      Brouillette said the added precincts did not make sense to him either. He doubts he will challenge results because he said the machines used in Independence do not have a paper trail.

      "There's nothing you can prove, because there's nothing on paper," he said. "You can ask for a recount, but there's nothing to count."