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Close 8th District Primary May Be Decided By A Recount

Kyle Van Horn
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kvh/3002934868

Indiana’s Eighth Congressional District will have a primary election recount on the Democratic side.

In the days right after the election, Ron Drake led opponent David Orentlicher by 61 votes.

After the counties counted absentee and provisional ballots this week, Drake is now up by only 53, out of close to 60,000 total votes, leading Orentlicher to file a petition for a recount Tuesday.

"Because mistakes are made, machines aren’t perfect, and the people who…the humans who count the absentee ballots and provisional ballots make mistakes too," Orentlicher says.

Drake believe he'll still come out on top.

"I feel confident," the former Sullivan Democratic Rep says. "I believe everything was fine, that everything was done appropriately. I have no reason to think that anything was inappropriate."

The state recount commission will decide whether to grant the request for a recount. Orentlicher says he’s confident the request will be granted.

The commission would hold hearings to resolve disputed ballots and release final recount numbers by the end of June.