BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Friday, state House candidate Marcus Brown’s attorney met with state lawyers in court, after Brown says election officials mishandled the recount of his race.
Judge Barry Stevens issued an order for another recount in the 127th district Democratic primary election.
Brown originally filed an appeal of his loss Monday. He initially led the race by five votes on primary night, a margin so slim, that it triggered an automatic recount.
After that first recount, election officials named a new winner with an even smaller margin–Brown’s opponent, incumbent Jack Hennessy, won by a single vote.
“We really feel confident that Judge Stevens has started the ball rolling on trying to get to an accurate count because at the end of the day, every vote needs to count and our democracy and the will of the people of the 127th needs to be honored, whoever the winner was,” said Brown’s campaign manager, Thomas Gaudett.
During Friday's hearing, Judge Stevens and lawyers for Brown and the defendants agreed to hold a new hand count of the primary election, starting Monday at 10 a.m.
Lawyers expect the count to only last a day and hope to deliver the new certified results by Tuesday at noon.
“I’m being optimistic,” Stevens said. “I’m going to be optimistic and think that after the recount, everybody’s going to be happy.”
However, Gaudett said this is just the beginning.
“We likely still will have some issues that will need to be resolved after Monday's recount,” he continued. “This is just a start. It's a good start, but we believe there’s a lot more to go.”
Brown’s Monday appeal, filed in Bridgeport Superior Court, claims election officials improperly lost multiple absentee ballots, used a defective machine tabulator, allowed ballots to comingle, and certified election recount results while acknowledging the absence of at least nine absentee ballots.
“Until all of the ballots are found and are counted, this thing is not resolved, because we're talking about a margin of one and that margin may change as a result of the recount on Monday,” Gaudett said.
In a statement Tuesday, Hennessey said the city attorney will defend the actions of the election officials and the result of the recount.
There’s a second hearing scheduled for this case next Friday, Sept. 2.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.