It’s been hard to stay ahead of the up-to-the-minute changes in the neck-and-neck vote tallies for Martha Abbott, the Progressive Party chair, and environmentalist Annette Smith, who was drafted by supporters in a write-in campaign, for the gubernatorial Progressive primary race.
That’s because the count for Smith has been something of a moving target. First, there were incomplete numbers on primary night (as to be expected), then verification of the tallies a week later (Tuesday), in which Abbott won 371-354. Finally, an hour and a half after VTDigger.org posted a story about Smith’s decision to challenge the ballot count for the Progressive primary, news came that all was not well with the tally after all.
Secretary of State Jim Condos says there were irregularities in the way the tallies were reported by two town clerks.
The difference? 17 votes. One vote short of the number Smith needed to end in a dead heat with Abbott. And more than enough for Smith to call for a recount. The threshold is a 2 percent difference between winning and losing candidates. Sources say that percentage, which was 2.2 percent yesterday, has fallen to zero, based on new information regarding write-in votes from Walden and Hardwick that were not included in the official tally on Tuesday.
In a statement, Condos blames the “human errors” on “the rush to complete the August 28 primary canvassing report over the long holiday weekend.” He said it is crucial to correct the errors immediately, in order to maintain the public’s trust.
“Voting is at the very basis and core of our democracy,” Condos said. “It is important that every vote counts.”
Condos said his office will call a “Special Meeting of the Canvassing Committee” to certify the “corrected results” of the Progressive gubernatorial primary. The meeting will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6 at the Secretary of State’s office, 128 State St., Montpelier.
Smith has until Friday to call for a recount. The Secretary of State’s office wants to conduct a recount, if requested, as soon as possible, because General Election ballots must be ready for town clerks by Sept. 21, according to federal law, in order to allow enough time for overseas and military voters to receive ballots by Sept. 22, or 45 days before Election Day, Nov. 6.
Correction: Smith was one vote short of a dead heat.
