Enfield wins recount by one

Bill Nechero shakes hands with Mike Enfield Monday at City Hall after votes were recounted from the city's election on March 10. The recount was the same as the original election results. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Gaye Brown de Alvarez
Staff writer

GALLUP — It took 2 1/2 hours to recount every vote from the Octavia Fellin Public Library, the Northside Fire Station, the absentee ballots and the early voting in District 1, and after some simple math, the decision was made.

No change.

“Mr. Enfield, there was no change,” City Attorney Dave Pederson said. “You won by a single vote.”

Mike Enfield and Bill Nechero shook hands and gave each other a big hug. Finally it was over.

There was some question about two ballots that had no marking except for the charter amendment question. There were no choices made for council delegate on those ballots.

Nechero had six days from the certification — which took place March 5 — to ask for the recount, which cost him $50 for each of the district’s two precincts.

Nechero questioned the ballots that were listed as being marked only for the charter amendment question.

“Why would someone go through all that trouble to cast a ballot and not vote for the council race?” Nechero said. “It may end up I received both of the votes or Mike got both of them or maybe we split.”

Another possibility was that only one of these ballots will show a preference for council and that vote would go to Nechero, setting up a runoff in that race as well as the one for the southside district.

But, the machines counted correctly and worked perfectly, and Judge Louis DePauli signed off on the results of the recount, 183 to Enfield, 182 to Nechero.

Each ballot was looked at by at least a half dozen people, precinct poll officials, the city clerk, the deputy city clerk, the county clerk, the city manager and the judge, and finally by both candidates.

One ballot showed an “X” instead of a black mark inside the oval circle, but both candidates approved of “how the voter intended,” a phrase used in a state statute describing how election recounts should be handled.