The Wayne County Board of Canvassers approved a recount of Detroit's mayoral primary after receiving a petition from former mayoral candidate and loud person Tom Barrow.
Barrow alleges election fraud, stating precinct workers weren't told the rules, some handwriting on ballots is eerily similar, and that there were more absentee ballots sent out than were returned. (At least it's not extra ballots returned.)
Votes will now be counted for the fourth time, after a series of issues counting some 24,000 write-in votes. The City Clerk's initial count was not certified by Wayne County due to some confusion between hash marks and written numbers that left 18,000 vote invalidated. The certification was then kicked up to the state, which found that Duggan received about 4,000 more votes than originally counted by the city. The state certified that vote count.
According to the Free Press:
The board also approved recounts for the city clerk, for city council’s at-large seat, and city council districts 2, 3 and 7; the counting will begin Tuesday at Cobo Center.
Regardless, Mike Duggan and Benny Napoleon are still expected to face off in the November 5th general election. Tom Barrow did not receive enough votes to be a mayoral contender in November.
