Recount doesn’t change Baxter County results in Arkansas secretary of state runoff

Bryan Norris (Image: Arkansas Secretary of State Office)

By Andrew DeMillo, Arkansas Advocate

The recount in Baxter County of the Republican runoff for Arkansas secretary of state didn’t change the results of the race, election officials said Friday.

Baxter County and Circuit Clerk Canda Reese said the results after the three-hour recount were the same as what was reported by the county Tuesday night. Bryan Norris requested recounts in multiple counties after narrowly losing the Republican runoff to state Sen. Kim Hammer on Tuesday.

Norris won Baxter County by 42 votes, according to results from the secretary of state.

A second recount Norris requested will be held in Saline County on Tuesday morning, and another will be held on Monday in Washington County.

Hammer, who is from Saline County, won the county by about 2,000 votes. He won Washington County by about 500 votes.

Hammer won the primary runoff by less than 1,000 votes statewide, with about 50.6%.

Under Arkansas law, the cost of the recount must be paid by the candidate requesting it, and the candidate is refunded if the outcome of the election is altered. The amount charged cannot exceed either 25 cents per vote cast in the precincts where the recount is requested or $2,500 for the entire county, whichever is less.

Reese said Norris paid $600 for the Baxter recount. Saline County officials said he will be charged $1,017 for the recount there.

The Republican nominee will face Democrat Kelly Grappe and Libertarian Michael Pakko in the November election.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.