MERIDIAN TWP., Mich. — Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum has announced the completion of the recount for the Meridian Township recreational marijuana shop proposal, and the millage has still failed, allowing recreational shops in the township.
The Ingham County Board of Canvassers reconvened this afternoon to verify and certify the recounted results. The recount was completed in just four and a half hours.
“I am beyond pleased with the amazingly efficient operation that has taken place here in Ingham County,” Byrum said. “We were able to complete the recount quickly and carefully, but most important, transparently.”
The recounted vote tally was 6,147 voting yes and 6,153 voting no, making the difference 6 votes when the results were certified by the bipartisan Ingham County Board of Canvassers. The difference in yes and no votes after the August primary was 12 votes.
Nine of 44 in-person and absentee precincts were determined to be unrecountable. Precincts may be determined to be unrecountable if the ballot container seal number does not match what was recorded, if the ballot container is not properly sealed or is damaged in a way that ballots could have been tampered with or if the number of ballots counted does not match the number of voters in the Poll Book.
Most of the unrecountable precincts in Meridian Township were all due to seal numbers that were not properly recorded.
“The vote totals changed slightly from the vote totals certified by the canvassers, because the recount was a hand count being performed by humans that may interpret ballot markings differently from a machine," Byrum said. "Challengers were allowed to participate in the process and could have made challenges if they disagreed with the ruling made by recount workers and members of the public were able to observe the recount. During this recount, no challenges were made.”
The recount was conducted with 17 teams of two made up of members of two different political parties.
Ballots from the August primary election have been returned to Meridian Township and will remain secured under the retention requirements set by the Michigan Bureau of Elections.
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