We should have a firm and final Detroit mayoral primary vote tally next week, even if it takes a recount of nearly 20,000 questionable ballots, the state elections director vows.
Chris Thomas didn't use "absolutely, positively" during a media conference call Wednesday morning, but that's his gist.
Free Press: The Michigan Board of State Canvassers will likely meet in Detroit early next week to certify the results from the Aug. 6 Detroit primary after the Wayne County Board of Canvassers was unable to certify the result on Tuesday, Thomas said.
It’s possible state election officials will retabulate the ballots in question -- which were write-in ballots mostly cast for former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan, Thomas said. . . .
The issue over how the ballots were marked in counting would have flipped the election result, with Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon finishing ahead of Duggan, the write-in candidate. But it would not have affected the ballot for the general election, since the top two primary finishers -- Duggan and Napoleon -- will face off in that vote in any case.
The state official doesn't "see any authority to disqualify" ballots based on whether tabulators used a hash mark or a numeral while counting them. "I don’t think it’s highly significant,” Thomas said, according to Lansing reporter Paul Egan of the Freep.
