Coin-toss loser will keep seeking recount
May 27, 2008
A candidate who lost an Athens County commissioner primary race by a coin toss said last week that he’ll continue to seek a hand recount of the vote, probably acting as his own legal counsel rather than hiring an attorney.
“I talked to (one local attorney), and he said it could cost up to $4,000 to go through the process,” reported Charlie Adkins. “That’s a lot of money. So I thought maybe I’d just try it on my own.”
Adkins was in Athens County Common Pleas Court Friday for a hearing on a challenge he has filed to the results of the county’s Democratic primary.
In a seven-way race for an open seat on the Athens County Commission, Adkins, a former union official at Ohio University, came up tied for first place with Jim Pancake, a former York Township trustee.
By law, this meant the winner had to be chosen by lot — in this case a coin toss that Pancake won. A combined hand-and-computer recount of the votes changed both men’s totals by the same amount, leaving them tied.
This meant that the coin-flip result remained in place, making Pancake the victor. He is set to face Republican Larry Payne, an Athens Area Chamber of Commerce official, in the fall.
After the coin toss, however, two of Adkins’ relatives filed a complaint in Common Pleas Court, demanding a hand recount. Adkins has cited reported problems with voting machines around the county, as suggesting that some votes for him might have been lost due to technical glitches.
The county prosecutor’s office has moved to dismiss the case, arguing that Adkins’ request wasn’t valid without 25 registered voter signatures on a petition.
The Ohio Supreme Court has appointed retired Judge Lawrence Grey, formerly of the 4th District Court of Appeals, to hear the case.
Grey held an initial hearing Friday, in which all he did was give Adkins a month to respond to the county prosecutor’s dismissal motion.
On June 20, the judge said, “I will look at the motion to dismiss and grant the motion or deny the motion.”
If he grants the dismissal, Grey noted, that will be the end of the case, though Adkins could appeal this to the 4th District Court of Appeals. But if Grey doesn’t dismiss the case, he said, he will give the county another month to respond to whatever Adkins files on his own behalf.
Adkins said afterwards that though he’s not an attorney, he believes the county’s argument about the need for a voter petition is worthless.
“That was garbage,” he said. “That was smoke and mirrors.”
He said his understanding of Ohio law is that his hand-recount request needed to be accompanied either by a voter petition, or simply by his own signature. Since he signed the complaint, he said, the petition issue is moot.
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