Mount Clemens

UCS bond issue stands

By Kristyne E. Demske
C & G Staff Writer

Recount stopped because of ballot discrepancy

MOUNT CLEMENS — A recount of ballots cast in Utica Community Schools’ $112.5 million bond issue had to be abandoned June 3 after there was a discrepancy in the number of absentee ballots cast in Shelby Township — meaning the bond issue stands as passed.

The Michigan Taxpayers’ Alliance asked for the recount, which occurred at the Mount Clemens Recreation Center, because of the narrow margin of votes approving the multi-million dollar measure, which certified results showed passed by 22 votes May 5.

The alliance had requested a recount of all the absentee votes — it shelled out $100 for the process — because that’s where Leon Drolet, the alliance’s director and a former state representative, said “more mistakes are made.” All of Utica’s votes had to be counted, though, because the city does not separate its ballots out by absentee and non-absentee.

But while seven additional no votes were found after ballots from Utica were counted, when it came time to count Shelby Township’s absentee ballots — which all came from within one precinct — the process hit a snag.

“They went to count Shelby Township’s (absentee ballots), which is over half the total, (and) they were not able to recount them,” said Drolet. “One of the rules is, you can’t recount a precinct if the total number of ballots cast in that precinct, when you count it again, doesn’t match.”

The number of Shelby Township absentee ballots counted June 3 was one fewer than what was counted May 5.

Shelby Township Clerk Terri Kowal said that the first time the ballots were recounted by the county workers, there was a 101-ballot discrepancy. The second time was just a one-ballot discrepancy. She wanted the ballots counted a third time.

“I have complete confidence in my election workers,” she said. “I think (the June 3 recount) was maybe human error.”

But she still isn’t sure finishing the recount would have made a difference because of how stringent her absentee-ballot election workers are on Election Day.

“I am very confident with my AV counting board,” she said.

“That being over half the votes that we requested to be recounted, it was over,” Drolet said about four hours after counting started that day. “We had narrowed the margin down from 22 down to 15. We will never know now whether that bond issue was approved by voters.”

Money from the bond proposal is set to go toward technology, buses, building maintenance for items like roofs and boilers, and parity additions to make sure all students in the district have access to the same caliber facilities.

“We’re, of course, pleased that the vote stood and we look forward to getting our projects under way that will benefit the 30,000 students that we teach,” said Hildy Corbett, director of school and community relations for UCS.

Drolet said he still feels the election’s outcome might have been changed if they could have counted the votes in Shelby Township.

“It’s a terrible shame,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can really be blamed. Our intent was to make sure the will of the voters were counted.”

The ballots were re-certified by the Macomb County Clerk’s Election Department, with 9,125 yes votes counted and 9,110 no votes counted.

A county election account clerk who did not want to be named confirmed the new votes counted and said it is the recount statute of the state of Michigan that does not allow a recount if the ballot total is inconsistent with what was counted on Election Day. He declined to comment further on the matter.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Kristyne E. Demske at kdemske@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1041.