OLD LYME — Old Lyme Republican Registrar Cathy Carter confirmed to LymeLine by email Monday morning that there would only be one recount Monday evening for the Old Lyme Zoning Commission position with a five-year term beginning 2022.
She explained in the email that the results for the fourth position on the Region 18 Board of Education (BOE) were “… read incorrectly on Election night.”
The results announced election night were:
Alexander Lowry (D): 1568
Christopher Staab (R): 1,578
giving Staab a margin of 10 votes, which generates an automatic recount in Connecticut since a margin of 20 votes or less triggers an automatic recount.
Carter noted, “however a tape from the tabulator was posted for public viewing with the correct numbers.”
Responding to our request as to where and when the tape was posted, Carter informed LymeLine by email Monday afternoon that, “The Tabulator tapes were posted on the wall of the middle school to the left of the entrance.”
We have requested a photo of the tapes after they were posted but have not received one yet.
Carter added that the final vote counts for BOE candidates Staab (R) and Lowry (D) were respectively 1578 and 1555, thus giving Staab a margin of victory of 23 votes.
This 23-margin difference places the result just outside the number needed to generate an automatic recount.
I find it interesting that “The Tabulator tapes were posted on the wall of the middle school to the left of the entrance.” Were they available for anyone to view, or is this just available to designees of the RTC/DTC? Were the tapes posted for an hour? A day? Given the revised totals in this year’s BOE race, and two other races that were within the mandatory recount range, there is interest in the process of how votes are counted, where errors may have crept in, and how they are corrected. A photograph of the official tapes should be made available online for voters to view on the Town website, or released to the local news media. This would provide transparency and clarity for Old Lyme voters, as well as an insight into our electoral process.
Wondering if there is an update on the request to see the tapes?