If Freeborn wants a recount, here’s how it would go down

Lots of folks who watched Tuesday’s Ashvegas City Council election are expecting Councilman Bryan Freeborn to call for a recount after losing his seat to newcomer Bill Russell by 84 votes. If he does, here’s how it will happen.

The Board of Elections will canvass the vote beginning at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. It will take two to three hours to confirm the results, according to elections board Supervisor Trena Parker. That process will include examaning 94 provisional ballots.

Once elections officials certify the vote, Freeborn has until 5 p.m. the next business day to submit a written request asking for the recount. If he does so, the elections board would quickly schedule a recount.

Then the real fun begins. A recount means re-scanning every single ballot cast in the election. That’s a long process. Parker said the board last performed a recount in a state election in 2006, so they’ve got a good idea of how to handle it.