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Kline granted recheck in 7th
[November 09, 2012]

Kline granted recheck in 7th


Nov 09, 2012 (Messenger-Inquirer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Secretary of State on Thursday granted Tim Kline's request to recanvass vote totals in the Kentucky House of Representatives 7th District election held Tuesday.



Incumbent John Arnold, a Sturgis Democrat, defeated the Republican challenger from Owensboro by five votes. Of 15,775 votes cast, Arnold had 7,890 to Kline's 7,885.

The recanvass involves re-adding the totals from each voting machine in the district, which, for this seat, includes Union County and parts of Henderson and Daviess counties. The recanvass is set for 9 a.m. Thursday in each county. Arnold and Kline will have representatives present at the sites.


"We're going to recalculate the vote totals to see if they all come out the same," Daviess County Clerk David "Oz" Osborne said. "It's the same thing we do on election night." Richard House, chief deputy and director of elections for the Daviess County Clerk's office, said he doesn't expect the totals to change.

"With the machines, there's not as much human error," House said. "It might take less than 30 minutes." The recanvass of the votes cast in Daviess County will take place in the Fiscal Court room at the courthouse.

Kline said he requested the recanvass because of the outcome's narrow margin. He sent a letter to the Secretary of State Wednesday night and received a reply Thursday.

"I am not aware of any irregularities, nobody's mentioned anything like that to me," Kline said. "It's just that when you're dealing with that kind of number, all you need is a machine to misread three. ...

"Five is a small number, and it's one of those things you feel you have to do for all those people who worked so hard for you." Kline said he's been "at peace" with the outcome but wants to see it through to completion.

If Kline chooses to proceed after the recanvass, he must file a notice of contest with the General Assembly, and a board of the appropriate chamber will conduct the proceedings, said Lynn Zelen, director of communications for the Secretary of State. He must also state the grounds for the contest.

Kline said Thursday he hasn't decided whether he would proceed beyond the recanvassing process.

Rich Suwanski, 691-7315, or [email protected] ___ (c)2012 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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