BENTONVILLE -- Objections to electronic voting led a Benton County justice of the peace challenger to request a recount in his race for the District 1 seat.
"A large number of voters have concerns about electronic voting machines," Republican primary candidate Michael McCaskey of Rogers says in his recount request, filed Thursday with the Benton County Election Commission. "Some voters even attempted to request paper ballots on election day, which is not allowed under current rules. For this reason, to assure the voters that each ballot cast is counted correctly, I am requesting a full, by-hand recount of each voter ballot in the Benton County JP District 1 race."
McCaskey lost the Republican primary to incumbent Jeff Dunn of Rogers, 791 votes to 712, final but unofficial results show. The recount will begin at 9 a.m. Monday at the Election Commission's office in Bentonville, commission staff confirmed Friday.
"I have 100% confidence in the Benton County Election Commission," Dunn said in a phone interview Friday. Benton County has never had any of the issues with voting machines cited by paper ballot advocates nationwide "and I'm sorry our organization gets painted by that brush," he said.
"Michael asking for a recount is his prerogative," Dunn said. "It's his right, and the reason we have the law is so people can do it, but I'm confident the result will be the same."
Dunn is in his first term on the Benton County Quorum Court. District 1 covers a portion of eastern Benton County, including much of Beaver Lake and the city of Rogers.
No Democrats filed to run for the District 1 seat, so the winner of Tuesday's Republican primary will be awarded the next term, starting in January.
McCaskey owes a recount request to supporters who distrust voting by electronic means and were denied a paper ballot, he said in an email Friday.
"Each time a voter brought up this topic, I replied if elected as a JP on the Quorum Count -- I would review how ballots are cast and counted here in Benton County and propose enhancements to secure the election both digitally and with paper audits if needed," McCaskey's email says.
"Now, since I appear to be behind by 79 votes, it does not seem likely I will be able to provide that assurance to the voters as their JP, so instead I chose the action that any candidate can take -- I paid for Benton County Election Commission to do a full, by-hand recount; I feel this is the best way I can honor my word to the voters."
Arkansas Code 7-5-319 requires the candidate requesting the recount pay the cost. The commission can charge up to 25 cents per counted ballot, meaning McCaskey paid about $376 for the counting by hand by the commission. McCaskey would be entitled to a refund if the recount changes the election result. The recount should be over by the end of the day Monday, a commission staff member said.
The election went smoothly, both Dunn and McCaskey said Friday. McCaskey's email says he did get a call from one voter saying McCaskey's name was missing from the ballot. "Upon review, I found that the redistricting of JP District 1 in 2022 moved that voter to a new JP district, and that voter was not aware of the change," McCaskey's email says.
The Benton County Election Commission conducted two recounts following the elections of Nov. 8, 2022 -- one in the Centerton mayoral election and one in the Highfill mayoral election, both requested by unsuccessful candidates in those races. In both cases, the recounts ended with no changes to the Election Day results.