Judge: Hand Detroit Mayoral Ballots to State
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
DETROIT — A judge on Wednesday ordered the state to take control of all the ballots in the Detroit mayoral election until a recount is complete.
Challenger Freman Hendrix, who lost to incumbent Kwame Kilpatrick on Nov. 8, had asked for the Michigan secretary of state's office to step in while he seeks a hand recount.
The official tally certified by the city's Board of Canvassers showed Kilpatrick with 123,140 votes, or 53 percent, and Hendrix with 108,600 votes, or 47 percent.
Hendrix, who conceded defeat the morning after the election, said he wanted the recount in part because of problems in getting results from some precincts after the polls closed and changes between preliminary and final vote totals.
State officials said there has been no evidence of tampering with the ballots.
Kilpatrick can still file an objection to the recount request. A spokesman for the mayor estimated a recount could cost the cash-strapped city more than $500,000.
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