Despite one candidate requesting a recount and his opponent supporting one, there won’t be one in the House District 36 GOP primary.
According to the Department of Elections, there will be no recount in the race between incumbent State Rep. Bryan Shupe and challenger Patrick Smith because the difference in votes fell outside the margin to trigger an automatic recount in state code. The trigger is one half of 1% of all votes cast for the 2 candidates
Shupe defeated Smith by 12 votes with 2,302 votes cast.
Even though both candidates support a recount, one cannot be requested according to the Department of Elections. It must be automatically triggered.
The issue in the District 36 race is that the margin between Shupe and Smith fell one short shy of the automatic recount trigger.
Smith says when he went to bed on Primary night he believed there would be a recount, but when he woke up the next day one absentee vote was added to Shupe’s total.
He says that one vote scuttled a recount. He submitted a petition seeking one, and Shupe supported it in the name of transparency.
While Smith didn’t want to be recorded for an interview, he told Delaware Public Media he feels like he’s in the Twilight Zone fighting a two-headed monster - on the one hand trying to get a recount and on the other seeking answers on where that one late ballot came from.
He adds that since both candidates endorsed and support a recount, one should be done.
Friday, Shupe followed the Dept. of Elections decision not to do a recount with a request to audit the results of the race.
“I have a long history of supporting proposals to improve governmental accountability and increase transparency,” Shupe said in a statement. “Today, I learned from the Delaware Department of Elections that they could not conduct an audit unless a sitting state legislator requested it. I immediately made that request. Our citizens need to be confident in the integrity and accuracy of these results. Ever since the primary results were tallied, I have repeatedly and publicly expressed my support for an audit. I’ve made good on those statements with today’s action.”
Shupe says if he wins relection in November he will introduce legislation next year to raise the automatic recount margin-of-victory threshold.
