Incorrect vote totals posted on the Racine County election site lead to some confusion Wednesday over who was actually elected Tuesday to the Mount Pleasant Village Board.
While newcomers Anna Marie Clausen and Rick McCluskey were safely declared the top vote-getters, the individual who scored a third-place finish was up in the air for a bit after some transmission errors from the village to the county.
County Clerk Wendy Christensen said it was combination of bad math, poll worker error and handwriting that was hard to read, according to a story in The Journal Times.
Racine County Eye spoke with the Mount Pleasant Clerk’s office Tuesday night at 10 p.m. for election results, and posted a story saying Trustee Gary Feest retained his seat. Results posted on the county’s website, however, put Jerry Garski in third.
By the end of the day Wednesday, though, Feest was firmly declared the third-place winner, leading Garski 933 votes to 898 votes.
“This fiasco reminds me of the old adage, you shouldn’t believe everything you read and only half of what you hear,” Feest chuckled when we reached him Wednesday evening.
Garski said he wishes Feest nothing but luck moving forward, but he also said waiting for the results to get straightened out was a little awkward.
“I wish Gary well because I know he’s going to have a hard time,” he said, referring to recent board actions when Garski, Feest and Schulz were often the dissenting votes. “But this was an odd day to be sure.”
Village Clerk Stephanie Kohlhagen reminded everyone that vote totals are considered unofficial until the Board of Canvass next week.
“Keep in mind all numbers are unofficial until the final canvass which is done by the county next week,” she said in an email.