The Brevard County Board of Elections has ordered a recount to determine one of the winners of the West Melbourne municipal election.
Unofficial results show Stephen Phrampus defeated Adam Gaffney by two votes for fifth place in the election, in which seven candidates ran as a group, with voters allowed to choose a maximum of five. The top five finishers win a seat on the council, but the sixth and seventh place finishers do not finish.
Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Tim Bobanic said state election laws require a recount if the unofficial totals between candidates are within half a percentage point. In this case, Phrampus and Gaffney were separated by less than one-hundredth of a percentage point.
Here are the unofficial results of the nonpartisan elections:
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Pat Bentley: 8,012
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Austin Gaylord: 5,831
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Alexis McGuire: 5,524
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Helen Voltz: 5,397
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Stephen Phrampus: 4,991
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Adam Gaffney: 4,989
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Kim McGibany: 4,739
Recount procedure
The recount will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the county’s Election Support Center in Melbourne, starting with a new automatic count of all ballots cast in West Melbourne, Brevard County’s fourth most populous city.
After that recount, if the candidates are separated by less than a quarter of a percentage point, there will be a manual count of ballots where voters either voted for more than five candidates in this race or voted for fewer than five candidates. , including voters who left the race completely blank. Bobanic said the vote counting machines can separate these “overcounting” and “undercounting” ballots for hand counting.
The hand count attempts, among other things, to determine whether the voter has marked the ballot paper in a manner other than the prescribed method of filling in the ovals next to the names of the candidates, for example by using check marks, X’s or circling the names of the candidates. .
The three-member Canvassing Board, including Bobanic, Brevard County Commissioner Tom Goodson and a County Court judge, will rule on any discrepancies.
The Canvassing Board gave Thursday time for the recount to proceed, if necessary.
If the race ends in a tie, Bobanic said, the city will determine a method for choosing a winner, such as a coin toss, rolling dice or drawing straws.
The city council shakes
The West Melbourne election was a bit unusual from the start.
Bentley, Phrampus and Voltz hold seats on the seven-member West Melbourne City Council.
Incumbent Councilman John Dittmore was unable to seek re-election because he participated in a Republican primary for Brevard County Commission District 3, losing to Kim Adkinson. Likewise, incumbent City Councilman Daniel McDow was unable to seek re-election because he participated in a Democratic primary for U.S. Congress in District 8, losing to Sandy Kennedy.
The top three vote-getters in the Nov. 5 election — Bentley, Gaylord and McGuire — win four-year terms.
The next two highest-vote votes — Voltz, plus Phrampus or Gaffney — will win two-year terms. They will file the unexpired terms of Dittmore and newly elected Mayor Andrea Young, a current city council member who ran unopposed for mayor.
Phrampus initially planned to run for mayor against Young, but instead chose to run for re-election to the City Council.
Bentley – who had served on the City Council – had been appointed mayor by the City Council following the resignation of former Mayor Hal Rose. But Bentley chose to run for office in the November municipal election.
Phrampus is a retired New Jersey law enforcement officer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
Gaffney is a small business owner. He served on West Melborune City Council from 2016 to 2020.
The annual salary for a West Melbourne City Council member is $11,321.
Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: West Melbourne City Council election winner to be determined by recount
