FORTVILLE — A Fortville town councilman who lost a tight race for his seat last month will have to pay $2,300 if he proceeds with a recount of the election results, according to court documents.
Republican Robert Sterrett, who was appointed as an at-large council member earlier this year, lost to Independent Fritz Fentz by 43 votes in the Nov. 6 election. Sterrett filed a petition for a recount Nov. 20.
The special judge who was assigned to the recount, Johnson County Judge Kevin Barton, wrote in an order last week that Hancock County Superior Court 1 set a cash bond for Sterrett at $2,300. That will cover the costs of the recount. Most of that bond — $2,000 — would go to a company to operate a ballot tabulator.
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Once the bond is paid, Barton will assign a three-person commission to oversee the recount — a Democrat, a Republican and someone to operate the machine, according to Indiana law. Each commission member will be paid at most $100 from the bond for each day of the recount, state statue says.
A recount of a general election, which is open to the public, must be completed by Dec. 20 unless the judge grants an extension, according to Indiana Code. A hearing on the Fortville council seat recount is set for 10:30 a.m. Monday in Hancock County Superior Court 1, according to Hancock County Clerk Marcia Moore.
Sterrett reportedly asked for a recount because of a question about straight-ticket voting in the race. Sterrett noted the disparity between the number of votes in the at-large race — 1,275 total votes — and the 1,388 votes cast in the District 2 race between Republican Robert Holland and Independent Becky Davis. Holland, who handily won his bid re-election, received 118 more votes than Sterrett.
Indiana law states voters who choose straight-ticket voting must also select candidates in at-large races individually. At least one post on Sterrett’s Facebook campaign page reminded voters to “bubble in” a vote for him for the at-large race.
Sterrett’s attorney, Michael Griffin, declined to comment about the recount proceedings.
An earlier version of this story misreported the nature of the Fortville District 2 election. All Fortville residents can vote for candidates in any district and at-large race. We regret the error.
