Recount scheduled for Adams Central School Board election

HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) - A razor thin margin of three votes separate two candidates who want to be on the Adams Central Board of Education. That means an automatic recount on Dec. 7.

Four candidates were running for three seats on the board, including incumbents David Johnson, Greg Mucklow, Tim O’Dey and challenger Derek Uhrmacher.

The boundaries of the Adams Central school district include property in Adams, Clay, Hall, Kearney and Webster counties. There were no votes cast for the Adams Central race in Hall, Kearney or Webster counties. The Adams and Clay county clerks said they have certified the results in their respective counties. So the official totals for those two counties combined show O’Dey (1,479) and Uhrmacher (1,316) with the most votes for two of those seats. But for the third seat, Johnson (1,223) has only three more votes than Mucklow (1,220).

State law requires an automatic recount whenever the margin of votes separating two candidates is less than 1% of the number of votes cast for the leading candidate. In the Adams Central case, the leading vote getter was Tim O’Dey with 1,479 votes. Depending on how it’s calculated, the threshold for a recount would be 14 or 15 votes. Since the difference between the votes cast for Johnson and Mucklow is only three, a recount is required.

The Nebraska Secretary of State designated Dec. 7 as the date for any required recounts. So election workers in Adams and Clay counties will tally the votes again to determine whether Johnson or Mucklow will win the third seat on the Adams Central School Board.