Recount Looms Over Framingham District 3 City Council Race

FRAMINGHAM, MA — On Tuesday afternoon at Brophy Elementary School, District 3 City Councilor Adam Steiner and challenger Mary Kate Feeney were only about 100 yards apart.

Feeney, a former Deval Patrick staffer, was waving a campaign sign and greeting voters along the school's long driveway. Steiner, the two-term incumbent, was positioned right at the entrance with two Charlie Sisitisky supporters waving his sign. Both had been at the polling place since sunrise on Election Day.

Hours later after polls closed, preliminary results showed the two candidates were still pretty close together: Steiner was in the lead with 997 votes to Feeney's 995. That translucent 2-vote margin immediately brought to mind the possibility of a recount. There were 130 blank votes in the race.

"A recount is likely. So stay tuned. Win or lose your message to reform the way we do business was heard loud and clear," Feeney said on Tuesday night.

Under state law, candidates must request recounts — tight margins don't automatically trigger them. So, it will be up to Feeney's campaign to request the maneuver, and she had not made a decision as of Thursday morning.

Per state law, petitioners must say whether they believe the election results were "erroneous," which might mean ballots were counted in favor of the opposing candidate or not at all.

"The form contains a statement that the signers have reason to believe that the election records are erroneous and that a recount will affect the results of that election," the Secretary of State's guide says.

If a recount moves ahead, a candidate can request either a hand count or a machine count. City Clerk workers do the counting overseen by a panel of election commissioners. Each campaign also watches along with key staff or attorneys.

Framingham's last recount happened in 2017 when a group of citizens challenged the results of a ballot measure to transform the state's biggest town into a city. Feeney was involved in that recount as a member of Framingham First, the group that sought the city change. The pro-city side prevailed and actually picked up four votes after the recount.

On Wednesday, Feeney said she has 10 days from Election Day to initiate a recount. Steiner declined to comment, saying he wants to wait and see what Feeney decides before making a statement about the race.