Recount set for Saugus School Committee election

SAUGUS – The Saugus Board of Registrars voted unanimously Monday night to approve a recount for Tom Stewart for the fifth seat on the School Committee.Stewart filed recount papers on Friday morning, 10 days after Arthur Grabowski beat him by just four votes in the Nov. 8 election.The recount will be held on Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. at the Town Hall Auditorium.?I can?t say I?m nervous,” said Stewart. “It is what it is at this point. I kind of went through all the emotions on election night. At this point it?s just, let?s get the count on.”Grabowski was re-elected to his second term with 1,966 votes, while Stewart received 1,962 votes to just miss out on his re-election bid.?Everything will be tabulated and worked on ? it?s a democratic process that?s going to go forward,” said Grabowski. “It?s the will of the voters that will ultimately decide.”Stewart and Grabowski met with the Board of Registrars along with Town Clerk Joanne Rappa and Town Counsel John Vasapolli to certify the recount papers Monday. Stewart needed at least 10 signatures from each of the town?s 10 precincts to certify, however, two signatures for precinct 1 turned out to be incorrect, so the Board certified only precincts 2 though 10 for the recount.Results for precinct 1 will remain the same and will not be recounted. Stewart netted 234 votes to Grabowski?s 221 in that precinct.According to Rappa, a total of 5,536 votes will need to be recounted. The setup decided upon at Monday?s meeting, which is also stipulated in the commonwealth?s recount guidelines, will consist of five tables, each with one reader and one counter who will go through blocks of 50 ballots.?I think it?s going to be a pretty smooth process,” said Gary Butt, Chair of the Board of Registrars.Each precinct will be counted one at a time, and both candidates can have as many as two observers and one attorney present per counting table.Grabowski raised some concerns about the amount of observers each candidate could have, but Vasapolli said it?s entirely up to the candidate and has no bearing on the recount.?That?s an option,” said Vasapolli. “You don?t have to do it. They?re not going to frame the recount based on how many observers you have. You can have less. It can only be you if you wanted. You?re not mandated to have it.”There will also be two runners present, who will be responsible for bringing protested ballots to the Board of Registrars for judgment.A candidate can protest a ballot if a voter didn?t clearly mark his or her choice, or if there is some other discrepancy with the way the ballot is marked.Vasapolli said the last recount he was involved with was in 1996, when a recount was held for the 6th congressional district seat between current Rep. John Tierney and Peter Torkildsen.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.