Recount confirms Whitead wins re-election
By Bret Hayworthbhayworth@siouxcityjournal.com | Posted: Thursday, November 20, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- The recount of the Iowa House District 1 race confirmed the original winner with about the same vote total as in the first count.
The three-man Woodbury County Recount Board on Wednesday finished two days of going over more than 12,200 ballots from 10 city precincts by hand and machine, and again found incumbent Democrat Wes Whitead to be the winner.
Whithead, who won by 55 votes, said Wednesday he was glad the election was finally over.
"It feels great," he said.
The original vote had Whitead defeating Republican challenger Jeremy Taylor by a margin of 6,152 to 6,092. The recount had the tally at 6,148 to 6,093.
With that outcome, Taylor said he considers the race over.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed to lose in such a close race, but I have confidence that Sioux City has spoken," he said.
Taylor contended the closeness of the election and the snafus in counting ballots over eight days after the Nov. 4 election warranted a recount, so he filed for one on Nov. 11.
The recount board began Tuesday morning and completed three precincts that day, initially counting by hand and then by voting machine to confirm those hand counts. Once those totals showed no major variance from the original count, they decided to count the other seven precincts by machine on Wednesday.
The board members were Sioux City attorneys John Mayne and Michael O'Brien, and Ron Hood of Ashville, Ohio. They were chosen by Whitead and Taylor.
Hood and O'Brien said the recount never saw much deviation from the original count, as each candidate gained a vote or two here and there, but the aggregate count remained near the 60-vote margin for Whitead throughout.
While there was a political charge to the process of verifying the recount and determining the winner, the three board members said they worked well together.
"There has been a very high level of professionalism and civility all around," Mayne said.
County Auditor Pat Gill observed the process, but the recount duties resided completely with the board.
Some Taylor supporters were dismayed that 122 ballots were not counted, either by initial count or recount. Gill explained the 122 ballots listed the wrong Iowa House districts. He said 43 of the 122 ballots involved the District 1 race with North High School teacher Taylor and five-term House member Whitead.
The non-House races on the 122 ballots were correctly printed, and those contests were included in vote totals.
-- Reporter Molly Montag contributed to this report.
The three-man Woodbury County Recount Board on Wednesday finished two days of going over more than 12,200 ballots from 10 city precincts by hand and machine, and again found incumbent Democrat Wes Whitead to be the winner.
Whithead, who won by 55 votes, said Wednesday he was glad the election was finally over.
"It feels great," he said.
The original vote had Whitead defeating Republican challenger Jeremy Taylor by a margin of 6,152 to 6,092. The recount had the tally at 6,148 to 6,093.
With that outcome, Taylor said he considers the race over.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed to lose in such a close race, but I have confidence that Sioux City has spoken," he said.
Taylor contended the closeness of the election and the snafus in counting ballots over eight days after the Nov. 4 election warranted a recount, so he filed for one on Nov. 11.
The recount board began Tuesday morning and completed three precincts that day, initially counting by hand and then by voting machine to confirm those hand counts. Once those totals showed no major variance from the original count, they decided to count the other seven precincts by machine on Wednesday.
The board members were Sioux City attorneys John Mayne and Michael O'Brien, and Ron Hood of Ashville, Ohio. They were chosen by Whitead and Taylor.
Hood and O'Brien said the recount never saw much deviation from the original count, as each candidate gained a vote or two here and there, but the aggregate count remained near the 60-vote margin for Whitead throughout.
While there was a political charge to the process of verifying the recount and determining the winner, the three board members said they worked well together.
"There has been a very high level of professionalism and civility all around," Mayne said.
County Auditor Pat Gill observed the process, but the recount duties resided completely with the board.
Some Taylor supporters were dismayed that 122 ballots were not counted, either by initial count or recount. Gill explained the 122 ballots listed the wrong Iowa House districts. He said 43 of the 122 ballots involved the District 1 race with North High School teacher Taylor and five-term House member Whitead.
The non-House races on the 122 ballots were correctly printed, and those contests were included in vote totals.
-- Reporter Molly Montag contributed to this report.
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