NEWS

Recount officially underway in Mason

Ingham among first counties in the state to start recounting ballots

Beth LeBlanc
Lansing State Journal

MASON - Dozens of workers sorted, stacked and counted thousands of ballots Monday as the Michigan recount got underway in Ingham County.

Between 50 and 75 workers spent the afternoon among piles of the county’s roughly 136,000 ballots at the Ingham County Fairgrounds. Observers and challengers watched and listened as workers tallied results.

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum expects the process to last at least six days. Workers were scheduled to continue the recount until 8 p.m. Monday. They’ll return for a 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift Tuesday.

Ingham and Oakland counties were the first in Michigan to begin the recount, a mere 12 hours after U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith issued an order requiring the recount’s expedited start.

The recount, requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, was supposed to start last Friday. It was delayed when Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump filed separate lawsuits to block the recount.

A recount worker with Ingham County looks over ballots during the recount for the presidential race Monday, Dec. 5, 2016 in Mason. Ingham was one of the first two counties to begin recounting ballots Monday, and other Michigan counties will begin recount efforts later this week.

Goldsmith held a Sunday hearing regarding an expedited start, and issued an order shortly after midnight Monday ordering a noon start. Later Monday, the Michigan Court of Appeals consolidated the Schuette and Trump lawsuits and scheduled a Tuesday hearing on the matter.

The starts of the recount in other counties will be staggered through the rest of the week. Both Clinton and Eaton counties are expected to begin their recounts at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Eaton County will recount its 57,000 ballots at Carmel Township Hall in Charlotte. Eaton County Clerk Diana Bosworth said she didn’t know how much the recount would cost the county.

More than 20 additional workers will participate in the process — some clerks from other townships; others volunteers, Bosworth said. The volunteers will be paid $12.50 an hour.

Clinton County will hold the recount of its approximately 41,000 ballots in the Clinton County Board of Commissioners room in the county courthouse, according to Deb Sutherland, chief deputy clerk for the county. Sutherland estimates the recount will cost the county about $20,000. About 26 people will be hired at $12.50 an hour to help with the process.

Not all votes will be recounted

Inside the 35,000-square-foot main arena at Ingham County Fairgrounds Monday, a Democrat and Republican worker were paired at each table and given a ballot bag. They physically inspected the ballot bags and paper ballots, before counting each ballot in the bag and comparing the number to precinct totals. The ballots then were separated by candidate and recounted.

► Related: Experts: Federal judge's ruling on recount ties hands of Michigan courts

► Related: Here's what Michigan will need for 'monumental' presidential recount

Melody Atwood, of Lansing, and Gayle Fulger, of Delhi Township, were among the dozens working at the recount Monday.

Atwood, a Democrat, said she considers the task part of her civic duty.

"It is historic," Atwood said.

Fulger, a Republican, agreed.

"It's exciting to see too how the process works," she said, adding that Ingham County’s $125 per day stipend could help with Christmas shopping.

Paul Carrier said working at the recount was a unique experience. The Lansing Republican also was a poll worker during the November election.

“I felt that we did a good job the first time, and I feel like we’re going to do a good job the second time,” Carrier said.

While observers and challengers were able to watch the workers, they were barred from touching the actual ballots.

At least one ballot bag from a Lansing precinct could not be counted Monday. Byrum said the seal number on the bag did not match the seal number in the poll book.

The mistake was unacceptable, Byrum said, but not completely unexpected. She expects to encounter a few more bags that can’t be counted because of similar errors.

Byrum said overnight security at the facility has been arranged, but she would not share details of the arrangement.

Stein’s $125-per-precinct fee for the recount will eventually result in a nearly $17,000 reimbursement, but Byrum anticipated the county’s actual cost would be closer to $50,000. Statewide, Stein’s per precinct fee has generated nearly $1 million to offset a process that likely will be much more costly.

Contact Beth LeBlanc at (517) 377-1167, eleblanc@gannett.com, or on Twitter @LSJBethLeBlanc. Detroit Free Press Reporters Paul Egan and Kathleen Gray contributed to this report.