The former mayor of Cochrane is withdrawing his request for a ballot recount, after losing by five votes to Denis Clement.
In a news release to the media, Peter Politis says the town has offered a recount, but not by hand.
A news release from the Town of Cochrane states:
"The Municipal Elections Act allows Council to consent to a recount using the same methods as the election but does not permit Council to consent to a recount by other methods, such as the requested manual recount.
Previous Council (with Mr. Politis as Mayor), in advance of the election, had the opportunity and ability to pass a by-law requiring a recount where the election was determined by a specific number of votes (such as if it was determined by 5 or less, 10 or less of whatever appropriate number Council decided). Such a by-law was not passed, so the Municipal Elections Act governs. The Municipal Elections Act requires a recount when the results of the election are TIED. In other words, an election decided by one or more votes is legal and compliant with the Act."
Politis says he questions the integrity of the ballot tabulation equipment the town used during the election and it is the main reason why he wants the ballots to be recounted manually.
He says the Town of Cochrane also told him if an electronic recount were to show him to win, he would still have to go through the court process, costing the town even more time and money.
The former mayor says he doesn’t want to drag the issue on any longer. His only hope now is that the town creates a recount policy similar to others in the province that provides for manual recounts when ballot tabulators show a close margin of error.
