It's official: SMART millage passes in Macomb Co. by a whole 39 votes

Christina Hall | Detroit Free Press

Macomb County's razor-thin win of a millage to support the suburban bus system still stands, with the winning vote spread widening from 23 to 39 votes.

Now, the wait is on to see whether anyone requests a recount of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) vote in the county.

The county's board of canvassers certified the Aug. 7 election on Friday, more than a week after it started its post-election work, according to the county election department.

The SMART vote total in Macomb County was 77,500 in favor and 77,461 against — a 39-vote spread. Unofficial vote totals immediately after the election had the SMART millage — basically a 1-mill renewal for four years — passing by a sheer 23 votes.

"We are pleased with the outcome of the certified vote results,“ John Hertel, SMART's general manager, said in an emailed statement to the Free Press.

If the measure had failed in Macomb County, that would have meant a wind-down of service in the county, officials said.

All of Macomb County's 338 precincts had the SMART measure on the ballot, while only communities that opt into the bus service in Wayne and Oakland counties had it on ballots in those counties.

The millage won handily (by more than 70 percent) in communities voting on the measure in Wayne and Oakland counties, according to unofficial election results in those counties.

Leon Drolet, chairman of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance — which funded an anti-SMART campaign — said last week that a recount request likely will come from someone in the alliance if the measure passes by a slim margin in the certified results.

The time frame in which to do so is six calendar days following certification of the election. Drolet said last week a recount would cost about $9,000.

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Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.