Preparing for the recounts has been chaotic for the county clerks in Mid-Michigan.
"It's been very hectic,” Eaton County Clerk Diana Bosworth said. “Constant changes, lots of planning but we're ready. We've had good direction from the Bureau of Elections and we're ready to go."
Eaton, Clinton and Jackson counties are scheduled to start the recount Wednesday at 9 a.m.
Thursday morning Hillsdale County will be counting their ballots in Jackson and Gratiot County is going to be counting in Clinton County.
This could add extra pressure for the Clinton County recounters to finish their work in a single day.
"There's a potential that we may have to work late into the evening on Wednesday night in order to clear this room for Gratiot County to move in here Thursday morning," Clinton County Clerk Diane Zuker said.
There are over 41,000 ballots in Clinton County alone. Each county has a ton of ballots to hand count and that's why they've divided workers into teams to power through.
"We're set up with 10 to 12, two-person teams to do a hand count of Eaton County's 57,000 ballots," Bosworth said.
"As long as everything runs smoothly we have 13 recount teams set up to count the ballots," Zuker said.
Each team is made up of those with experience.
"The teams will be made up of past and present local clerks,” Bosworth said. Mostly city and township clerks who have all worked recounts before."
And they believe this strategy will make everything more efficient.
"We're hoping that will help expedite the process,” Zuker said. “So they have some experience so they have some experience and knowledge about the ballots themselves."
Clinton, Eaton and Jackson counties are hoping it'll only take a couple days to finish their recounts.
"We're just anxious to have this complete and behind us," Zuker said.
