An attempt to hold a recount of the ballots cast in Ward 1 in last fall’s municipal election has failed.
Robert Powers, who ran for Mayor of Chatham-Kent last October, challenged the results in court this morning, questioning why half of the ballots cast in Ward 1 were stated as being placed at an ‘unspecified poll’.
Powers represented himself, saying that his rationale for challenging the results is that the poll number (location) on each ballot is a security feature, and he has concerns that half of the ballots didn’t contain this information and were classified as ‘unspecified’.
The case was dismissed after the Judge explained to Powers while some ballots had markings that were unclear, classifying that information on the ballot as unspecified, (as stated in an affidavit by Chief Returning Officer Judy Smith), the intent on each ballot was clear, and had no effect on the outcome of the election.
A lawyer representing the Municipality of Chatham-Kent stated that there is no information to support Powers’ claim that this poll matrix is a security feature. He stated that he would be seeking the costs back from Powers related to this case, in the amount of $4,000 for 20 hours of work, but reduced the amount to $1,000 as Powers was representing himself.
The judge ruled to dismiss the case, and that Powers pay $250 to cover the municipality’s legal costs.
