Blair Says He Anticipates Seeking Recount in County Executive Race
Montgomery County executive candidate David Blair said Tuesday that he anticipates he will ask the county Board of Elections to perform a full recount of Democratic primary election ballots.
“We have been informed that it will take approximately a week to perform a recount of the election results. Recognizing that the next Montgomery County Executive is elected to a four-year term, an additional week to ensure the votes of all Montgomery County residents are tallied accurately seems appropriate,” a statement from Blair said.
Blair’s announcement comes one day after the elections board certified Councilmember Marc Elrich the winner of the June 26 Democratic primary. Elrich edged Blair, 37,529 to 37,450.
Neither Elrich nor his campaign manager, Ben Spielberg, immediately returned calls for comment.
Blair’s full statement was:
Dear Friends –
Yesterday evening, the Maryland State Board of Elections certified the results of the 2018 Primary Election. After counting approximately 130,000 ballots, the announced results indicate our campaign trailing by 79 votes; a vote margin of six hundredths of a percent (0.06%) making this the closest County Executive race in history.
We share the desire to have a nominee chosen in a timely manner so the party can come together and prepare for the General Election. On the other hand, we fully believe that participation in the electoral process is the hallmark of our democracy and it is imperative that all ballots are accurately counted. We have concerns with the tabulated results after hearing from voters who experienced difficulties during Early Vote and on Election Day coupled with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s voter registration technical errors, which resulted in thousands more provisional ballots than in previous elections.
We have been informed that it will take approximately a week to perform a recount of the election results. Recognizing that the next Montgomery County Executive is elected to a four-year term, an additional week to ensure the votes of all Montgomery County residents are tallied accurately seems appropriate.
Accordingly, we anticipate that in the next few days we will request the Board of Elections to perform a full recount.
Thank you for your continued support and we will keep you apprised of new developments.
By law, Blair has until Thursday to request the recount, elections spokesperson Marjorie Roher said. Recounting the ballots would take seven to 10 days, she said.
“There hasn’t been a recount in the county since 1998 and we’re estimating sometime between seven to 10 days,” she said.
The entire elections board staff will be participating in the recount, Roher said.
If Blair seeks a countywide recount, staff from other jurisdictions could be summoned to the elections board offices on Frederick Avenue in Gaithersburg. The board would be unable to use volunteers, Roher said.
Roher said the board estimated the cost of the recount to be about $150,000.
Elections board lawyer Kevin Karpinski said the Blair campaign could bear the cost of the recount because more than 0.1 percent separates Blair from Elrich. That is, the 79 votes, divided by the sum of the two candidates (74,979) is 0.105 percent.
Blair would appear before the Montgomery County Circuit Court and present a bond to cover the cost, Roher said. If the results don’t change, the cost would come from the bond. If Blair is declared the winner, the cost would be borne by the county, she said.
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