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Local presidential recount Sunday

ESCANABA — A recount of Michigan’s ballots for the presidential election began at noon Monday, and Delta County Clerk Nancy Kolich said she and her staff have been getting ready to recount local ballots on Sunday.

Michigan is one of three swing states where Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein has pushed for ballot recounts. A recount in Wisconsin began last week, and the Green Party filed a federal lawsuit seeking a recount in Pennsylvania Monday. According to Michigan’s official vote totals, President-elect Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the state by 10,704 votes — just two-tenths of a percentage point.

Michigan’s ballots are being hand-counted as part of the recount process. Kolich said that she is glad the recount is being done in this manner, as election workers can spot errors that may not be detectable by a voting machine.

“In a hand count, you’re looking at each individual ballot,” she said.

Delta County’s recount, which Kolich said is likely to take between four and eight hours, is scheduled to take place at the Catherine Bonifas Civic Center on the morning of Dec. 11. The recount will be open to the public.

Kolich said she and her staff have been hard at work preparing for the recount. Officials have booked the Civic Center for Sunday, and they have been relaying information from the Michigan Bureau of Elections to city and township clerks and the Delta County Board of Canvassers.

Additionally, Kolich said she has been lining up certified election workers for Sunday.

“I’ve been in the process of getting … election workers to do the recount,” she said.

Kolich said she does not expect Delta County’s vote totals to be dramatically different from what they were found to be in November.

“I would say that our count will be fairly close to … what the results were as certified by our Delta County Board of Canvassers,” she said.

Though the 2016 presidential election recount is the most high-profile recount effort affecting Delta County, it is not the only recount that will take place in the area. A recount of votes for the Bay College Board of Trustees race is also set to take place in the future.

This recount was authorized in response to a recount petition filed by Thomas England, one of three candidates who ran to fill two full-length terms on the Bay College Board of Trustees in the Nov. 8 general election. According to the official vote totals, England lost the race by 12 votes — he received 6,981 votes, Joy Hopkins received 6,993 votes, and Steve O’Driscoll received 7,639 votes.

However, Kolich said the county’s current focus is on recounts for the presidential election.

“This has to be settled first — this takes priority over any local recount,” she said.

Kolich said that no matter what happens on Sunday, she and her staff will be glad to leave the 2016 general election behind.

“We’ll look forward to having it completed,” she said.

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