This story has been updated.

By Logan C. Ritchie, contributor

DeKalb County, GA — DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections will hold a machine recount of county commission District 2 votes on Saturday, May 28 at 9 a.m., followed by a hand count as part of the audit and certification process on Tuesday, May 31.

The county will recount ballots from all 40 precincts in DeKalb County Commission District 2.

Georgia state law requires only a machine scan for a recount. DeKalb Elections board vice-chair Nancy Jester said a member of the state board of elections suggested a hand count follow the machine scan.

The Democratic Party submitted a petition for a recount after candidate Michelle Long Spears noticed several precincts recorded zero votes for her. According to the results reported on election night, May 24, spears lost a three-way race between herself and Marshall Orson and Lauren Alexander. If that result holds, Alexander and Orson will be on the ballot in the June 21 runoff.

The issue in the District 2 race occurred when candidate Don Broussard withdrew from the race. He still appeared on absentee ballots and some primary ballots. That withdrawal caused a mistake in the programming of the precinct scanner and led to inaccurate vote counts for two candidates. Issues may have been missed during logic and accuracy testing, a pre-election review of equipment and ballots, Jester said.

Elections Director Keisha L. Smith declined to share additional comments about the recount during the meeting. The primary is her first election since being hired.

For more information about how this error occurred, read Decaturish.com’s previous story by clicking here.

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