Devers, Lantigua recount set for Saturday
Lawrence election officials said yesterday they will begin a recount in the 16th Essex House race on Saturday, after Marcos Devers challenged his sticker campaign loss against two-term incumbent Rep. William Lantigua in the Democratic primary.
The recount is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at Lawrence City Hall, and will involve examining each of the 2,969 ballots cast in the Sept. 19 primary. A final tally is expected later that day.
Devers, who ran a write-in campaign against Lantigua, said he challenged the results because he believes voters were not given stickers bearing his name and instead were told to write his name on the ballot.
Devers lost to Lantigua 1,865 to 710. He said he will attend and closely scrutinize the recount.
"The process is not clear to us. We want to see the ballots," Devers said. "I am going to be there all the time, I want to see how they validate the votes they say that are valid."
"Not even Houdini can overturn that election," Lantigua said. "Our numbers will increase."
Even if Devers doesn't triumph, the recount has a purpose.
Devers is planning on running a sticker campaign in the general election against Lantigua. Devers, a former Lawrence city councilor who lost the mayor's race last year, said the recount will improve his chances on Nov. 7.
In only two days, Devers walked the streets of Lawrence collecting signatures, and turned in 250 from people supporting the recount. State law requires 130 signatures to force a recount in all of the 16th Essex's 13 precincts. Many of those signatures, while disqualified, belonged to Republicans and unenrolled voters - people Devers will have to attract to have a chance in November.
"I am a Democrat, but all votes are welcomed," he said.
Devers claimed stickers needed for write-in votes were not always handed out properly.
Devers' name was kept off the Sept. 19 ballot after Lantigua questioned Devers' residency. The State Ballot Law Commission ruled that Devers could not appear on the ballot because he didn't live in the district a year before the election, as required by state law.