Hartland ballot recount; race for school board position tightens
Hartland ballot recount; race for school board
Election Day was more than ten days ago – and when we say every vote counts, this story out of Hartland proves it. The race for a school board position went from very close to razor close on Friday, April 11.
HARTLAND, Wis. - Election Day was more than ten days ago – and when we say every vote counts, this story out of Hartland proves it.
School board vote recount
What we know:
The race for a school board position went from very close to razor close on Friday, April 11. For two full days, election workers have been counting ballots by hand – and the process is not yet complete.
Voting machines counted 12,000 votes on Election Day. Now, pairs of election workers are recounting each and every ballot by hand.
On the night of the election, Morgan Henning won a seat on the Hartland Lakeside School Board by just ten votes. That is a margin of 0.08%.
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Each voter was allowed to vote for three of six candidates. The top three vote-getters got a spot on the board.
Henning is third. The fourth place finisher, John Poulos, requested a recount. He was not at the recount, but Henning was.
What they're saying:
"It’s crazy. But that’s another reason why I’m here. I want to see it with my own eyes, so I feel comfortable with whatever results are coming. Because I have full faith in the election integrity," Henning said.
By Friday evening, the second day of the recount, Henning's lead had shrunk to just one vote.
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Henning has three kids in the school district. Liberal group Blue Sky Waukesha backed her. But Henning said she did not request it. The group also backed the second-place finisher.
The Waukesha Republican Party's WisRed backed the first and fourth place finishers. This recount will determine which group was more successful.
Dig deeper:
Wisconsin does not have automatic recounts. Candidates within a point of the winner can request a recount, but usually, they have to pay for it.
Wisconsin law says if the candidate is within a quarter of a point and someone requests a recount, then the government pays. In this recount, that school district is picking up the tab.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News, having spent the day at the ballot recounting process.