CONCORD — A judge Tuesday granted Secretary of State David Scanlan’s request to continue the recount of a state representative race in Manchester Ward 6.
Scanlan wanted to extend the recount based on his belief that not all the ballots had been properly reviewed.
In a nine-page decision, Superior Court Judge Amy Ignatius called Scanlan’s belief that a stack of 25 ballots for Republican candidates were improperly handled “a likely explanation” of the need to pursue the recount.
“The greatest weight must be attributed to a complete and lawful count of the votes cast to determine the will of the people,” Ignatius wrote.
In his first public statement on the controversy, Gov. Chris Sununu criticized the New Hampshire Democratic Party for its attempt to block Scanlan's plan.
"In an effort to subvert the will of voters, NH Democrat leaders engaged in appalling, hypocritical, and outrageous behavior to prevent all legal votes from being counted. I thank @NHSecretary Scanlan and the Court for protecting the voice of voters and integrity of our elections," Sununu said.
After a recount last Monday, retired school counselor Maxine Mosley came out on top by one vote over Republican State Rep. Larry Gagne for one of two House seats in Hillsborough County House District 16.
On Nov. 8, Gagne defeated Mosley by 23 votes.
The total for the top-placing finisher in this race, Republican Rep. Will Infantine, dropped by 18 votes after the recount, while Gagne received 22 fewer votes. Mosley picked up two votes in the recount.
The makeup of the New Hampshire House after recounts thus far is 200 Republicans, 199 Democrats and one tie yet to be decided.
Bill Christie, the lawyer for New Hampshire Democratic Party, had argued that if Scanlan won this case, it would lead to endless litigation in the future over close elections.
“Their presumption is they want to keep counting until the Republican wins,” Christie argued.
Ignatius said there was “minimal if any” prejudice done to either candidate because no one had taken the oath of office.
“This extraordinary circumstance requires an atypical remedy,” Ignatius said.
Colin Booth, communications director, said the New Hampshire Democratic Party was "disappointed" by the judge's ruling but heartened that the decision revealed this legal challenge was proper.
“One thing is clear from this decision -- Secretary Scanlan acted outside the law. From the beginning, this case has been about the integrity of our elections. The courts agreed with our arguments that the secretary of state did not follow the statutes, exceeded his statutory authority, and should not have taken the action of calling for an additional recount," Booth said in a statement.
"That is why we are so disappointed the Merrimack Superior Court feels this is an extraordinary circumstance and will now allow for a second recount after the secretary of state declared a winner in the Manchester Ward 6 race eight days ago."
After the initial recount last Monday, Scanlan had declared Mosley the winner, but further reconciliation efforts by his office raised a doubt that all the ballots had been accounted for during the recount.
