Recount Gives Four Vote Margin to Democratic Challenger

Democratic Town Council candidate Peter Talbot emerged Monday as the winner of the 4th District race with a  winning margin of four votes.

Talbot's victory of 801 votes to 797 for Republican incumbent Steve Carroll reduced the Town Council's Republican majority to 6-3, a gain of one seat for the Democrats.

Carroll was gracious about the outcome of the four-hour long recount process. "We could debate the minutiae as much as we want, but whether it's three or four votes, I wish Peter well," he said.

Talbot said waiting for the results was difficult. "It was the longest roller coaster ride of my life," he said.

Democratic Registrar of Voters Aleta Looker explained the recount process to a crowd of about 50 who gathered to witness what turned into a tedious task.

"Here are the ballots. It's a bodacious amount," Looker said as she opened the sealed ballot bag. Poll workers and party representatives then reviewed the ballots by hand before they were fed into the scanner for an electronic recount.

The decision to physically review the ballots came after an attorney for the Republican State Central Committee questioned whether the ballots should be reviewed by hand before they were fed into the scanning machine.

Attorney Brian Cafferelli, the executive director of the state committee, cited election law which calls for a physical review of the ballots in a recount. After reading the statute, Looker agreed the hand review was required.

Town Clerk Carolyn Soltis said the recount was the first for the town since the electronic voting machines were put in use for municipal elections in 2007.

Carroll and Talbot were initially tied with 797 votes based on unofficial totals counted on Nov. 8. The next afternoon, however, two uncounted ballots from an accessible Interactive Vote System machine were discovered.

Despite the new vote total, the recount went forward because state law requires it if the margin of victory is less than 20 votes.

"If it stays at two votes, that's the end of the story," Carroll said as the recount continued through the afternoon. "I'm not here to make anyone's life difficult," he added.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Ernie DiPietro watched as the recount  process continued hour after hour. "Whoever loses by two votes, it's a heartbreaker. Candidates work hard, so to not get a victory, it's difficult to come to grips with it," he said.

Talbot, who was appointed to an unexpired one-year term on the Board of Education, said the experience helped prepare him to be on the council. "I'll start right away. I'll jump right in," he said.

Council members are traditionally sworn in to office on the first Sunday in December, which this year is December 4.