Council candidate Meelhause requests recount in Bemidji Ward 5 primary

BEMIDJI — The results of a Bemidji City Council primary election will be recounted next week.

According to a notice from city clerk Michelle Miller, Ward 5 candidate Michael Meehlhause requested the recount.

Contributed

/

Michael Meehlhause

The results canvassed by the Bemidji City Council indicate Meehlhause finished third in the Aug. 13 contest with 99 votes. Bill Batchelder came in second place with seven more votes. Incumbent candidate Lynn Eaton's 126 votes led the pack.

In an email statement, Meelhause wrote that he has "complete faith" in the local electoral system.

"I am grateful for the hardworking volunteers and staff who ensure our local elections are secure and fair," Meehlhause said.

"Though I personally don't anticipate a change in the results, my request is to ensure that all the ballots cast for were counted accurately and that the correct two candidates will move onto the General Election in November."

By-hand recounts are publicly funded if the difference in votes is 10 or less if fewer than 400 votes were cast. The Secretary of State’s Office explains on its website that a small percentage of voters mark their ballot in a way that cannot be read by an optical scan machine.

The recount will take place in the Beltrami County Board Room at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 28. It will be open to the public and candidates.

The top two finishers of the primary election move on to ballots for the General Election in November.

Beltrami County Auditor-Treasurer Jodee Treat reported in an email to KAXE that Beltrami County's primary voter turnout was about 15%.

Statewide, the Secretary’s office said around 544,000 Minnesotans cast ballots in the primary, representing a 12.77% voter turnout. This is down from the last three state primaries, which had roughly 20% turnout.

“Voters have a variety of big and small reasons as to why they choose to vote or not to vote,” Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a news release. “We know that low turnout primaries are not indicative of low turnout general elections. This November, we can expect to see a much higher turnout than the primary as we do every election season.”