Byrum calls for recount in 8th District House race

LANSING (AP) - Ballot counters in Michigan may soon be debating pregnant chads and hanging chads if an extensive recount of votes cast in the 8th District congressional race takes place.

Democratic state Sen. Dianne Byrum of Onondaga already has said she will ask for a recount after the Board of State Canvassers certifies the results of the race that pitted her against state Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton) in one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country.

What's still not clear is how broad of a recount she'll request. Byrum spokesman Adam Wright said yesterday the campaign has not decided which areas of the district it wants recounted.

Byrum has 48 hours to request a recount after state canvassers certify election results, as they are expected to do Monday. Rogers has seven days after the results are certified to request additional recounts. His attorneys are deciding whether to ask for a recount, he said yesterday.

The outcome of the election was unclear until the morning after the Nov. 7 election, when a late surge of votes from Livingston County pushed Rogers ahead of Byrum.

Rogers first appeared to have won by more than 500 votes. But that was cut to 152 votes after Ingham County adjusted its figures to add in some missing returns.

Yesterday, Washtenaw County's certified totals showed seven more votes for Rogers than previously counted and two more for Byrum, increasing his lead to 157 votes.

The counting errors in Washtenaw County can be attributed to jammed ballot machines that either read ballots twice or did not read ballots, said elections administrator Melanie Wiedmayer.

The 8th District includes Ingham, Genesee, Livingston, Oakland, Shiawassee and Washtenaw counties. All except Livingston and Oakland had certified their election totals by the close of business yesterday.