Harvard’s recount of votes cast in the Third Congressional District Democratic Primary produced virtually no change in the town’s original tally. Officials awarded a single contested vote to Lori Trahan of Lowell, but Daniel Koh of Andover remained the town’s winner.
Out of the 1,134 votes cast in the town’s Democratic primary. Koh’s total was unchanged at 246 votes, Trahan’s total increased by one vote to 189, while the number of blank ballots decreased by one.
Members of Lori Trahan’s and Steve Koh’s campaigns gather around Steve Cronin (seated, left) as he looks over a ballot with a questionable vote as Town Counsel Mark Lanza (standing right with face showing) comes over to weigh in during the Third Congressional District Democratic primary recount, Sept. 14 in upper town hall. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Districtwide, however, it was Trahan who won the nomination. Koh, the second-place finisher who had called for the recount, fell behind Trahan by 145 votes as the district’s 37 towns recounted the 89,000 votes cast. Ending two weeks of uncertainty, Koh conceded the race Monday afternoon and pledged to support Trahan, an announcement that came an hour before Secretary of State William Galvin declared Trahan the winner. Her margin of victory was 0.17 percent.
Harvard’s vote counters awarded Trahan her additional vote after examining a ballot that had previously been rejected as “blank” by the town’s voting machine on Sept. 4. A voter had crossed out a first selection—marking the deletion with an “X”—and replaced it with a second. The three registrars overseeing the recount voted unanimously that the manner in which the voter had made other selections on the ballot showed an intent to vote for Trahan. Their decision was contested by observers for the Koh campaign and would have been reviewed had Koh chosen to challenge the recount.
The recount, open to the press and public, was conducted in upper Town Hall on Sept. 14, a sunny and warm Friday morning. Harvard’s single ballot box, sealed on election eve, was opened at approximately 9:15 a.m. and its contents were carefully divided into 50-ballot lots. The actual counting began 10:45 a.m. and was done at three tables, each with two counters. One counter read the name selected on each ballot and the second recorded it on a tally sheet. It took counters approximately 10 minutes to work their way through each batch of 50 ballots. The numbers were then submitted to the final tally clerk, Dennis Bradley, who compiled the results.
The first to finish was Table #3, staffed by Barbara Kemp and Meg Bagdonas, who handed in their last batch at 11:54 a.m. As the more than 30 attendees in the hall awaited results, it was at times quiet enough to hear a ballot drop. At one point former fire chief and selectman Peter Warren asked, to laughter, if Town Clerk Marlene Kenney was planning to take everyone to lunch. Finally, at 12:20 p.m., Bradley completed his tally and announced the final result.
Trahan will face two challengers for the Third District seat of retiring Democratic Rep. Niki Tsongas in the November general election: Republican Rick Green and independent Mike Mullen.
Certified results of the Harvard recount are available on the town website. District results can be found at the website of the Massachusetts Secretary of State.
