Bevin officially requests election recanvass in Kentucky governor race
LOUISVILLE – Citing "multiple reports of voting irregularities," the campaign of Gov. Matt Bevin has formally requested an official recanvass of the results in Kentucky's election for governor on Tuesday.
Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear led Bevin by 5,189 votes after 100% of precincts reported voting results Tuesday night, after which Beshear declared victory to a crowd of supporters.
However, Bevin said in a speech to supporters that "we are not conceding this race by any stretch," referencing unspecified voting "irregularities" and a "process
My office has received a recanvass request from @GovMattBevin. The recanvass will be conducted Thursday, Nov. 14th at 9:00 a.m. pic.twitter.com/lwpCTk8ncm
— Alison L. Grimes (@KySecofState) November 6, 2019
Declaring the election "too close to call," the Bevin campaign issued a news release Wednesday announcing it is formally requesting a recanvass of the votes by the secretary of state's office.
“The people of Kentucky deserve a fair and honest election," stated Bevin campaign manager Davis Paine in the release. "With reports of irregularities, we are exercising the right to ensure that every lawful vote was counted.”
The news release did not provide any specific example of voting irregularities, and Bevin's campaign and office have not replied to multiple requests asking for any of those alleged examples.
Under Kentucky law, a recanvass is a simple review of the vote totals by each county clerk — counting absentee votes and checking printouts to make sure the numbers they transmitted to the State Board of Elections were correct.
State law allows for a recanvassing if a county clerk or a county board of elections notices a discrepancy, or if a candidate makes a written request to the secretary of state by the Tuesday after an election, which would be Nov. 12.
Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes announced after receiving the request that she would forward it to the State Board of Elections, and the county board of election will convene on Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. to conduct the recanvass.
Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky governor race: Matt Bevin campaign requests recanvass
