CHAFFEE SCHEDULES HEARING TODAY ON WHETHER ELECTION RECOUNT NEEDED

CHAFFEE - A hearing is scheduled today to determine whether there should be a ballot recount in the city council election in Chaffee between Ed Gauthier and Janet Sullivan.

Gauthier said a Scott County sheriff's deputy delivered a summons to him Wednesday that orders him to appear in court at 11 a.m. today at the Scott County Courthouse in Benton. The hearing, he said, will be held to receive testimony on whether a recount in the election should be conducted.

Circuit Judge Anthony J. Heckemeyer will preside at the hearing, said Scott County Prosecuting Attorney David Dolan. Dolan said he had filed a petition for the recount on behalf of Scott County Clerk Bob Kielhofner.

Kielhofner could not be reached Wednesday. A spokesperson with the county clerk's office, though, said Sullivan also had been sent a summons to appear Thursday in court.

Sullivan beat Gauthier, the incumbent, in the April 2 election to represent Ward 2, gathering 118 votes to Gauthier's 104. But, according to Kielhofner, election judges tainted the election by knowingly handing out Ward 2 ballots to an estimated 18 Ward 1 voters.

The irregularities occurred at Chaffee City Hall, one of the city's two polling places. Earlier this week, Gauthier claimed he knew of at least one rural voter who also wrongly received a Ward 2 ballot.

Dolan said he believes the judge will order a new election after determining irregularities existed, based on testimony from Kielhofner and election authorities. Kielhofner is expected to testify that the election outcome may change if ballots cast by Ward 1 voters are thrown out, he said.

Last week, Kielhofner said he had asked the judge to order a new election. A second election may be held in early May, he said.

On Monday evening, Sullivan was sworn in as Chaffee's new Ward 2 council member after both Kielhofner and the city council certified the election results.