New Ballots In Framingham D3 Race Had 'Hesitation Marks': Steiner

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The two candidates vying for the District 3 Framingham City Council seat are drawing battle lines.

After a recount on Tuesday ended in a 997-997 tie between incumbent District 3 Councilor Adam Steiner and challenger Mary Kate Feeney, the two candidates are advocating for different solutions to the deadlock — a rare occurrence across all democratic jurisdictions.

In a message on Facebook after Tuesday's recount, Steiner said the "likely next step" would be for a judge to look at two ballots newly counted for Feeney to determine their validity.

"That should result in a determination about the final outcome of the Nov. 2," Steiner said. "If not, we’ll look to the next step advised by the court to break the tie, and we will certainly abide by the court’s and the city’s decision. Much as I respected Ms. Feeney’s request for a recount, I similarly want to make sure every i is dotted and t is crossed as we move forward in the process."

On Thursday, Feeney fired back: she asked City Council Chair George King Jr. to call a new election in District 3. The Council will meet Tuesday in special session to discuss Feeney's request.

"By making this request to the Council, which can set election dates in consultation with the City Clerk’s office, this issue is put back into the hands of District 3 — where it belongs," Feeney said in a note to supporters.

In response, Steiner released a statement Thursday evening that said the registrars split on awarding the two additional votes to Feeney.

"I continue to believe that these two additional votes were awarded to Ms. Feeney in error," he said. "These two ballots showed votes in other races with fully filled-in ovals, but only a tiny stray dot in the District 3 City Council race oval. This type of stray dot is known in election law as a hesitation mark and is not considered a sign of voter intent when inconsistent with other votes on the ballot, which is the case here."

Steiner said the next step should be a review by a state Superior Court judge. Steiner said he would be fine with a special election following a judge's review.

Perhaps the last election recount tie in Massachusetts happened in 2011 in the contest between incumbent Democratic Charlton state representative Geraldo Alicea and Republican Peter Durant. The recount tie first went to a judge, who ordered a new election — and Durant won.

During Framingham's recount, volunteers found two ballots that were eventually counted for Feeney. Neither a city spokesperson nor City Clerk Lisa Ferguson have responded to questions about the process that led to those ballots being newly counted.