Bethany Election Needs Recount

A recount is required for several races in the 2013 Bethany municipal election, which was held on Monday.

State statute orders such action when the last winning candidate beats the first losing candidate by less than 20 votes, says Bethany Town Clerk Nancy McCarthy.

In the race for Board of Education, for example, the last candidate “in” was Vivian Shih and the first one “out” was Brian Laubstein. Shih received 860 votes and Laubstein got 855. Because the margin is less than 20, a recount for that office is mandated.

A recount is also needed for Selectman, Board of Finance and Planning and Zoning. The recount, also called a recanvass, will occur Monday, May 13, starting at 9 a.m. at Bethany Town Hall. It’ll take about four hours and it’s open to the public.

The recount will basically double-check results from the ballot machine, with workers from both parties supervising, says McCarthy.

“Sometimes machine doesn’t count vote if not fully bubbled,” she says. “(But) most of the time the results stay the same.”

McCarthy, who has been town clerk since 2003, says recounts in Bethany have not been uncommon. In fact, they seem to happen “quite a bit.”

It’s not surprising considering Bethany Democrats and Republicans have a nearly equal representation. As of January, there were 1,029 registered Democrats and 1,015 registered Republicans. Unaffiliated voters in January totaled 1,863.

“Unaffiliated always a question, hard to judge,” says McCarthy. “That’s why results are hard to predict.”