The mayor’s race in Austin, Minn., wasn’t particularly close — Mayor Tom Stiehm beat challenger Marian Clennon 4,760 to 3,061, about 60 percent to 39 percent.
But Clennon has requested a recount anyway, asking that votes be hand-counted in three precincts, says the Austin Daily Herald. Because of the wide margin, there is no automatic recount and Clennon will pay the costs, expected to be about $1,000, to pay for one city staff member, one county staff member and nine election judges.
Clennon has already observed test of the voting machines — before the primary and before the general election — which showed they were working properly.
Clennon said she “wants to make sure the ballots are counted the way the people intended them to be counted,” the paper said.
Said incumbent Mayor Stiehm: “She put a lot of effort and a lot of thought into (her campaign). It’s a little tough for her to accept the defeat.”
