I just read on the Reformer Facebook page that Dick Degray won the election. He won an additional vote and Avery Schwenk lost 8 votes. It will be interesting to hear more about the process.
Comments | 6
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
The process
On Wednesday, the day before the recount, I sent town clerk Annette Cappy questions about the recount process. Here are my questions, each followed by Annette’s response:
1. What is the Board of Civil Authority?
[Annette Cappy, Brattleboro Town Clerk] The BCA is an elected body consisting of 15 Justices of the Peace, the selectboard and town clerk. JPs are elected for 2 yr stints in November elections. There will be no selectboard members counting tomorrow.
2. I saw that you mentioned that two justices of the peace will pair up. Does that mean that two justices of the peace will count together?
[Annette Cappy, Brattleboro Town Clerk] Yes, JPs and possibly a few others will be doing the counting. We will have teams of 3. One team member will examine the ballot and read the vote to the second team member who will record the vote on a tally sheet form. The 3rd member will observe and monitor that what was read from the ballot is correct and that what was recorded was correct.
3. Will the recount be open for observers, or at least can the press observe? And if not, who will actually be in the room… will there be anyone in addition to the two justices of the peace?
[Annette Cappy, Brattleboro Town Clerk] Yes, the recount is open to anyone wishing to observe. We will try to allow observers to be close but not so close that they could interfere. However, each candidate is allowed to be in the counting area to examine ballots if they chose or they may have a representative if they would like.
4. Is the recount procedure prescribed by law, or does someone (such as the town clerk) decide what would be a fair and trustworthy way to conduct the recount.
[Annette Cappy, Brattleboro Town Clerk] Yes, the recount procedure is as prescribed by state statute.
Helpful
Great questions and answers. Thanks!
The Process – Hand Count vs the Machine Count
[Reformer.com] Town Clerk Annette Cappy oversaw the count by the Board of Civil Authority. She said it’s hard to determine why the hand count came up with a different result from the machine count that occurred on election day. “Unless you are able to watch the machine as it processes each ballot, it’s hard to tell what the machine was seeing.”
“Unless you are able to watch the machine as it processes each ballot, it’s hard to tell what the machine was seeing.”
This is an interesting statement. We know they weren’t able to watch the machine count, but it begs the question who was watching the people counting as they processed each ballot? Frankly, not to slight anyone of course, but between the two, I’d take the machine count over the people count.
machine count
The recount is open to anyone who wishes to observe. The candidates or their representatives are invited to witness the recount. The process, as describe by town Annette Cappy, is as follows:
“Yes, JPs and possibly a few others will be doing the counting. We will have teams of 3. One team member will examine the ballot and read the vote to the second team member who will record the vote on a tally sheet form. The 3rd member will observe and monitor that what was read from the ballot is correct and that what was recorded was correct.”
It does not make sense to me that a machine count would be more reliable than three individual counters, going through each ballot one at a time, in the presence of witnesses. (I have experienced too many paper jams to believe that machines are impeccable.)
It is disappointing to see the initial, reported victory for Avery Schwenk overturned, and I understand how tempting it is to believe what we wish the truth to be. If Al Gore had won the presidency after a Florida recount, then we would believe it? But not DeGray?
What you say?
“It is disappointing to see the initial, reported victory for Avery Schwenk overturned, and I understand how tempting it is to believe what we wish the truth to be.”
What you say, “to believe what we wish the truth to be.” ?? You can’t be talking to me.
“…I have experienced too many paper jams…”
lol! I bet you have too!
And the winner is... oh wait, I'm sorry....
We need to get Steve Harvey to announce this for us.