Apr. 24, 2020 5:32p; Updated 5:50p; Updated 6:10p; Updated 6:15p to correct the length of the recount from 5 to 6 days.
(WGTD)---A six-day long recount has determined that the Apr. 7th Racine Unified long-term facilities referendum won by four votes, not five as originally reported on election night.
The final count was 16,715 votes in favor and and 16,711 against.
The recount actually trimmed the number of 'yes' votes by 33 while the 'no' column lost 32 as a result of closer looks at absentee ballots and "draw downs" where votes are picked at random and then tossed in order to compensate for the faulty ballots. It's the legal version of a flip of a coin.
The recount is subject to a court challenge.
The final hours of the recount Friday featured a mystery. Officials determined that about a-dozen absentee ballots from Racine ward 11 that had write-in votes on them had gone missing. The Board of Canvassers in essence recovered those votes by painstakingly examining back-up digital images.
The ballot measure authorizes the district to exceed levy limits over the next 30 years by nearly $1 billion to build new schools and close old ones.
Superintendent Eric Gallien issued a statement shortly after the recount was completed. "This plan will transform Racine Unified and impact every school and every student for years to come," Gallien said. "Our teachers will finally be able to teach in 21st century learning environments with the tools necessary to support student success," he said.
A group that opposed the referendum and supported the recount plans to meet Sunday to determine whether to pursue a court challenge, said community activist Jim Spodick.
Earlier in the day, the group, "Honest, Open, Transparent Government," or "HOT" for short, had called for a halt to the recount, saying in a statement that the recount had been "beseiged with irregularities."
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