Perry County District 1 Commissioner Albert Turner Jr. requests recount of election he lost by 1 vote

Perry County District 1 Commissioner Albert Turner Jr. has filed a request with the Perry County Probate Judge asking for a manual recount of the May 19 primary election where he came up one vote short of winning.

Turner got 397 votes and lost to challenger Donald Bennett who got 398 votes.

State law requires a recount when an election is this close in a general election, but a candidate must request a recount in a primary election. The candidate requesting a recount is also required to pay a security deposit and pay for the recount efforts.

Turner said in a statement on social media that he has requested a “manual” or hand recount of the ballots. The state statute about recounts says the process is conducted electronically by rerunning the ballots through the machines and officials only hand count ballots that were rejected by the machine. It is unclear if the Probate Judge will handle this request with a full hand count or by machine.

Perry County Probate Judge Carlton Hogue’s office said on Wednesday they will have more information about the recount on Thursday.

In the statement, Turner says he anticipates the request for a recount will be denied but does not give a reason for the denial. He adds he is prepared to challenge the results.

Turner is also claiming “suspected discrepancies” in the election process and points to reports of “potential voting irregularities, including out-of-district voting, which could impact the outcome given the slim margin.”

Turner also says his team has “identified voters who were placed in and out of district 1 to affect the outcome.”

“Evidence shows a local realtor casting a vote in district 1, but she actually lives in district 2,” he claims. “More and more individuals are coming forth acknowledging being forced to vote out of district or not voting.”