The recount for the November 3rd Jasper mayoral election is now complete however a group of ballots are being contested and will be presented to those who are overseeing the recount process.
The recount kicked off this morning. During today’s events all precinct ballots in the tied race for the office of mayor of Jasper were looked at and reviewed by assigned counters and designated as exhibits.
In the end four ballots, two in favor of each candidate will be contested.
Those ballots will be argued in a hearing before the recount commission Friday morning.
That group consists of Republican representative Merrill Osterman, Democratic representative Art Nordhoff and Jefferson County Clerk Karen Mannix. The three were sworn in this morning by Special Judge Dean Sobecki of Daviess County who was selected to oversee the case and recount
Friday’s hearing will start at 11 am in the commissioners’ room of the Dubois County Courthouse Annex. Lawyers representing incumbent Republican Mayor Terry Seitz and Democratic Challenger Wayne Schuetter will argue at that time whether the disputed votes should or should not be included in the overall election result.
Any decision made by the recount committee on Friday may be appealed by either candidate and be brought before Judge Sobecki.
This morning’s recount took place in the Pfaffenweiler Room in the lower level of Jasper City Hall and was open to the public.
Last month’s election between Seitz and Schuetter finished in a deadlock of 1,856 votes apiece. Independent candidate Joshua Budd finished the night with 190 votes.
On November 16 a lawsuit was filed by Indianapolis attorney’s David Brooks and Samantha DeWester in Dubois Circuit Court on behalf of Seitz asking for a recount of ballots in the race.
Once again a hearing looking at four disputed ballots in this morning’s mayoral race recount will take place Friday morning in the commissioners room at the Dubois County Courthouse Annex. The hearing will begin at 11 am.
