STAFF REPORT

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HARRODSBURG — A petition has been filed in Mercer County Circuit Court asking for a recount of ballots in the Harrodsburg mayoral election.

The petition was filed by Art Freeman, the only certified write-in candidate for the office of mayor on Nov. 15. The petition states that according to the Board of Elections, the results were 1,033 for incumbent Harrodsburg Mayor Eddie Long and 1,029 votes were for Freeman, meaning that Long won the election by just four votes.

The petition also stated that the Board of Elections chairman told Freeman there were 63 write-in votes that were not counted because they were illegible and couldn’t be read using the electronic scanner. The chairman contacted the election vendor who said it was not possible to print out the scan in order to “fully examine the writing to determine the intent of the writer.”

The ballots were recounted on Nov. 15, and confirmed the original count numbers.

In his petition, Freeman stated because he was the only certified write-in candidate, “It is reasonable and likely that the intent of the voters, whose votes were deemed illegible and not counted, was to vote for Mr. Freeman.”

Therefore, he is asking the court to set a minimum bond for the cost of recount; direct the voting machines, ballot boxes and all papers retaining to the election be transferred to the circuit court; schedule the recount as soon as possible; and “closely examine the actual paper ballots and perform the recount in accordance with KRS 120.185 and 31 KAR 6:030.”