Recanvass shows no changes in Ky. gov race

There were no differences in the vote counts for the two top candidates for the Republican nomination for Kentucky governor after a statewide recanvass to review one of the closest statewide elections in Kentucky history, Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said Thursday.

That means, save for a last-minute recount request by Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, Louisville businessman Matt Bevin will be the GOP nominee after winning the primary on May 19 by 83 votes.

"With what we have seen so far to date, there have been no substantial changes," Grimes said Thursday afternoon after the results from all 120 counties were verified.

Third-place finisher Hal Heiner of Louisville picked up three more votes from Fayette County after the recanvass, but that was the only change.

If the results stand and Comer chooses not to ask for a full recount, Bevin squares off against Democratic nominee and Attorney General Jack Conway in November's general election.

All three Northern Kentucky counties said their recanvass turned up no changes either: Bevin won Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties by wide margins, taking more than 50 percent of the vote in Boone and Campbell and nearly that much in Kenton.

Comer has until the close of business Friday to file for a recount in Franklin County Circuit Court, but he would have to pay for that process himself.

A Comer campaign spokesman said that Comer was on vacation in Florida and would issue a statement on his next steps Friday afternoon.

Bevin campaign officials did not immediately return requests for comment.

The final result from the Republican race for agriculture commissioner were not changed either, with each candidate picking up a few votes here and there. State Rep. Richard Heath, R-Mayfield, had asked for a recount after losing to state Rep. Ryan Quarles, R-Georgetown, by about 1,400 votes.

At the Boone County Administration Building, a blur of fingers and the clicking of an adding machine turned out results exactly the same as on May 19. Bevin took Boone County with 57.1 percent of the vote. Nary a vote count was found to be different in a review of all 62 precincts and 124 voting machines.

"I'm really not surprised at this," Boone County Clerk Kenny Brown said after the review, which took less than an hour. "And this process is the one used in about 95 percent of the counties around the state. So I'm not expecting anything to really be found."

Kenton County Clerk Gabrielle Summe also reported no differences, with Bevin taking nearly 48 percent of the vote compared to Comer's 32.1 percent.

"It went very smoothly, and there were no changes," Summe said.

Campbell County reported similar results.

"Smooth process and everything came back perfect, right on the money," Campbell County Clerk Jim Luersen said. Bevin took 53.8 percent of the vote there, compared to Comer's 23.3 percent.

Each county was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. local time, which means some western Kentucky counties started later as they are on central time.

The review itself entailed restating the results from each machine for each candidate, plus adding in absentee ballots. Then the tallies are added to create the whole.

Summe said that she is still waiting on one outstanding military absentee ballot, which needs to be received by June 1 by court order. A judge ruled that a software glitch meant a total of 12 military members, including one from Kenton County, had extra time to return their ballots. Summe said she had not yet received that ballot, but since Kenton County is included in that ruling, she can't certify her results until June 1.

Barring any changes or challenges, the state Board of Elections is set to certify the results on June 8. Grimes said Thursday that she has officially scheduled that meeting.

Most of the Boone County Board of Elections were on hand, including Sheriff Michael Helmig and Boone County attorney Bob Nies. Former county clerk Marilyn Howard read off the results from each machine, provided to her by the county's head of voter registration Dawn Spritzky. Jenny Coldiron, an accountant for the clerk's office, tallied those totals on an adding machine.

This particular review was attended by at least four observers from the Bevin camp, and one from the Comer campaign.

"Thanks for all your hard work, that was done well," Comer observer Louis Kelly said after the officials finished the process.