Sioux Falls prepares for recount to determine Stehly-Jensen council race

The first recount in a City Council race in Sioux Falls history is imminent. But it could still be weeks away.

A panel yet to be assembled will need to examine ballots to see if they were incorrectly counted by the Minnehaha County Auditor and the Sioux Falls City Clerk if at-large Councilor Theresa Stehly is going to hold onto her seat.

Stehly fell short to Alex Jensen in her re-election bid by 110 votes based on the initial vote tabulation that took place over a 26-hour period Tuesday and Wednesday. The slim margin of defeat entitles the 61-year-old music instructor and civic activist to a recount, and she says she wants one. 

More:Jensen wins at-large council race by 110 votes; Stehly to ask for recount

But taking a second look at the nearly 29,000 ballots that were cast in this year's city-school board election could still be three weeks away.

According to the Secretary of State's manual on navigating recounts in municipal elections, Stehly can't formally request a recount until after the election results are officially canvassed. That will happen at next week's city council meeting.

At that point, the clock starts on a window of five business days for the losing candidate to submit a written request for a recount to their jurisdiction's city clerk or chief finance officer. In this case, if the votes are canvassed Tuesday at 7 p.m., Stehly would need to make her request to Sioux Falls City Clerk Tom Greco no later than the following Tuesday at 7 p.m.

A three-person recount board would then be assembled to inspect ballots and the machines that they were run through and ensure vote totals are accurate.

"They need to examine each ballot to determine if the official stamp has been placed on it," Greco said of what the recount board's duties will consist of. "The stamp is important because you know that it wasn't some random ballot that somebody got somewhere else."

If a recount occurs, both Stehly and Jensen will have one representative on the board and Greco would select a third member to settle disputes.

The city clerk has three days upon receiving a candidate's request for a recount to assemble that board.

Based on the timelines and deadlines laid out in the Secretary of State's manual and state statutes, conducting the recount could take place as far out as June 26. Stehly would hold onto her seat until a victor is determined.

During the initial count, several absentee ballots were tossed out and determined ineligible due to discrepancies in the signatures on the paperwork sent in with the ballot and the signatures on the application for absentee ballots received by the county auditor.

Stehly has said she wants to be able to see those "spoiled" ballots and ballot applications and potentially have them run through the tabulation machines during the recount.

This would be the first time since at least 1994 – when the city adopted the eight-person city council and strong mayor form of government – that a municipal race ended up needing a recount.

So the unfamiliar territory has Greco in the process of examining state statutes and consulting with the Secretary of State. But it's his understanding that the spoiled ballots Stehly wants another look at won't be eligible for be recounted.

"They're only recounting the items that were counted the first time," he said.