The path to determine which political party will have the majority on the Columbus City Council for the next four years was described Tuesday by a local judge.
But following that path could keep a final decision up in the air until the Friday before Christmas.
A hearing was conducted Tuesday before Bartholomew Superior Court 1 Judge James Worton regarding the recount petition filed by incumbent Republican District 1 Councilman Dascal Bunch.
On Nov. 5, Bunch, who represents District 1, appeared to have been defeated in his effort to seek a third term. Democratic challenger Jerone Wood was one of four Democrats who won city council seats, giving the Democrats their first majority on the council since 1983.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Wood defeated Bunch by one vote, 260 to 259. Ten days after the election, Bunch officially filed for a recount.
On Tuesday, Worton said the first step would be the appointment of a three-person commission to handle the recount.
The voting machines involved in the city election were sealed in a room by the Bartholomew County Sheriff Department last week.
Bunch and his attorney, Scott Andrews, will appoint a GOP commissioner while Wood and his attorney, Ross Thomas, will select a Democrat, the judge said.
But the third commissioner should be someone with an expertise in current voting machine technology, Worton said. During Tuesday’s hearing, that third person was referred to during the hearing as the “mechanic commissioner.”
Although both parties had no objection to Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps serving as the third commissioner, Worton said he does not want an elected official in that position.
Thomas asked that Sharon Kreig serve as the Democratic commissioner, but Kreig declined the appointment because she served as an inspector of the mail-in ballots. Kreig said she did not want any appearance of impropriety.
Both parties were asked by the judge to submit the names of the Republican and Democrat commissioners by the time the Superior Court 1 office closes today for the Thanksgiving holiday. Worton also asked both parties to submit multiple nominees for the mechanic commissioner.
Another hearing will be scheduled for next week that will allow both parties to strike names from the combined list of the nominated mechanic commissioners — much like dismissals of potential jurors are done during trials, Worton said.
Once the commission is selected, the three-member group will meet to decide when they will perform the recount. However, the judge emphasized all work must be completed no later than Friday, Dec. 20th.
Worton also read the Indiana State Recount Commission guidelines, which are 22 separate points that describe step-by-step how the commission will conduct the recount.
One requirement is that the recount be confined to a roped-off area of the Election Board Room on the first floor of the courthouse. Only the recount commissioners and Phelps will be allowed that area, while all other observers — including attorneys and media — must remain outside the roped-off area.
Recounts in Indiana involving electronic voting machines are done by reprinting the vote tallies on the machines and comparing them to the number of signatures in the poll books, Phelps said. Additionally, mail-in paper ballots would be recounted by hand.
The last recount done in a Columbus municipal election was in the 2011 general election, after Republican Frank Jerome defeated Democrat Greg Knoll by two votes, 879 to 877, to win the Columbus City Council District 3 seat, Phelps said.
The results did not change after that recount, Phelps said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”What’s next? ” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
A three-member recount commission is expected to be selected late next week.
Although the commission will decide when to hold the recount, most of their responsibilities are laid out in the 20-point Indiana State Recount Division Guidelines.
The commission is expected to complete its recount no later than Friday, Dec. 20.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
