Election turns around when inspectors 'see the light'
Saturday, September 04, 2004
By Steve Gunn and Lynn Moore
Muskegon CHRONICLE

Sometimes the human eye can read ballots that computers can't.

The ability of election inspectors to see light marks that an optical scanner missed appears to have contributed to Kris Tabler being declared the winner of the Muskegon Township Clerk Democratic primary election, following a recount this week.

In the Aug. 3 primary, Tabler finished second to incumbent Clerk Jim Nielsen, 791-786. The ensuing canvassing process, which compares the results from the precinct reports to the results produced by the ballot-counting machines, found the same result.
But Tabler paid for a recount in all seven township precincts, and the Muskegon County Board of Canvassers spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday inspecting the ballots by hand. When they finished, the result was startlingly different.

Tabler won the election over Nielsen by two votes, 804-802. Jerry Young, the candidate who finished a distant third, received 258 votes in the recount.

Overall, the recount revealed the existence of 39 more votes cast in the clerk's race than the original count did.

Tabler will likely become the new township clerk next year, because there is no Republican seeking the office in the Nov. 2 election. Only a write-in candidate could possibly defeat her in November.

Tabler's first foray into politics proved to be a "roller coaster," she said Friday.

She said she didn't expect the election result would change with the recount.

"I really am kind of in shock because they just typically don't turn around," Tabler said. "I learned a lot about myself. ... I learned to push my boundaries and take that step out of my comfort level."

Tabler was on hand for the finalization of the recount Friday morning.

"It's a very tedious process," she said. "The four people from the canvassing board were very meticulous and they did a very good job."

Nielsen could not be reached for comment Friday.

At first, Muskegon County officials thought the results of the recount would have to be certified by the state board of canvassers. But later Friday they said that wasn't true the state only needs to be informed of the recount's results, they said.

Nielsen's only recourse would be to challenge the recount in Muskegon County Circuit Court, according to county officials.

Interestingly, all three candidates in Muskegon Township finished with more votes in the recount than they did in the original tally. Tabler's total increased by 18, Nielsen's by 11 and Young's by 10.

Tabler's extra votes were found in precincts 4 through 7. She picked up five votes in precinct 4, three votes apiece in precincts 5 and 6 and seven votes in precinct 7.

Obviously the canvassers, counting by hand, were able to read some ballots that the computer "optical scan" machines didn't pick up, said Tom Higgins, chairman of the county board of canvassers. It's also possible that the machines simply read some ballots wrong.

"Some people mark their ballots very lightly," Higgins said. "Some people mark them in different ways and the machine can't pick it up.

"I guess the message to anyone voting is, make sure you mark your ballot darkly."

Meanwhile, the county board of canvasser's work is not done. They will begin a recount of the Egelston Township Supervisor Democratic primary Tuesday, a process that's only expected to last one day. In the original count, Vicky Fessenden defeated runner-up Mike Thompson 440-421. Thompson requested the recount.