Beech Tree News Network

Tally stays the same with Whittinghill leading Thomas by a slim 6-vote margin, 283-277

The primary election held on May 17 showed incumbent 4th District Magistrate David Whittinghill holding a 6-vote margin over challenger Osei Thomas.  Four years ago Whittinghill and Thomas were involved in another close election - a 12-vote margin in Whittinghill’s favor.  

Following the election, Thomas requested recanvass of votes be conducted by the Butler County Board of Election.  This group consists of Deborah T. Givens, Deborah Rose Worley, Heath West, and Butler County Clerk Sherry Johnson.  Both candidates were present for the recanvass, which was held on Thursday, May 26 at the courthouse.  Butler County Attorney Richard Deye was also present.  A recanvess consists of a review of the vote totals from the election.  Clerk Sherry Johnson reviewed absentee votes and checked the printouts to make sure the numbers were correct when they were transmitted to the Kentucky Board of Elections.  No discrepancies were found.  The recanvass yielded the same vote totals for each candidate - Whittinghill 283, Thomas 277.  

Due to the slim margin, Thomas has stated that he will ask for a recount of the votes - the next step in the process.  In this case, it is possible that all  voting machines will be retallied but that decision will ultimately be determined by Circuit Judge Tim Coleman.   During Thursday’s recanvassing at the courthouse, Thomas questioned the vote differences between ballots issued to 4th District residents and specific votes cast in the magistrate’s race.  

According to Clerk Sherry Johnson on Thursday, 584 ballots were issued and 560 was the combined total of votes for Whittinghill and Thomas.  Johnson indicated that it is not uncommon for these numbers to not match exactly because all voters do not vote in all races.  This is due to what election officials refer to as “undervotes.” 

In an interview on Friday, Clerk Sherry Johnson revised the original 584 vote tally to 578.  The 584 number reflected both Republican and Democrat voters.  The 578 number is Republican only.  

The Butler County Clerk’s office issued the following report on Friday:

In a social media post on Thursday following the recanvass in which he said he felt like the “black Donald Trump,” Thomas said he was afraid the voting may have been “rigged” in the magistrate’s race.  He also expressed concerns that several 4th District residents may have been given the wrong ballot - one that did not include the 4th District magistrate’s race.  

According to Thomas, the recount is set for June 1.