Jefferson County election officials held a recanvass of two primary election races Thursday morning. If the vote difference between two candidates is less than one percent, a candidate can request the measure in writing.
Nailah Spencer with the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office said a recanvass is distinctly different from a recount — it’s simply a double check that election technology worked the way it was supposed to.
“We use our memory devices [from voting machines] and just put that in our tabulation system,” Spencer said. “We’re just checking the numbers.”
In contrast, Spencer said recount requests are generally rare since they can be expensive and candidates must pay for the costs.
Thursday’s recanvass affirmed the primary results for Senate District 7, which encompasses many towns between Louisville and Frankfort. That means Aaron Reed will officially be the Republican nominee to face off against Democrat Rhonda Davis in November's general election.
It also cemented Woody Zorn’s victory for the Democratic nomination for House District 36 on the far eastern edge of Jefferson County. Zorn won the primary by just five votes.
“I’ve always been told in order to win an election you have to win by 50% plus one — the rest is just for ego,” Zorn said. “I’m a very humble man so I’ll accept a five-vote win.”
At the clerk’s office Thursday morning, there was some confusion over if the Democratic primary for House District 30 between Daniel Grossberg and Mitra Subedi would be recanvassed as well.
Subedi was there along with Virginia Woodward, outgoing Louisville Democratic Party chair, and Rep. Nima Kulkarni. However they didn’t request the recanvass in writing and, according to the secretary of state’s office it “didn’t meet the one percent threshold.”
Later in the day, Woodward said Subedi “accepts the results, and we move forward.”
