KALAMAZOO, MI — After weeks of speculation, State Rep. Sean McCann announced Thursday that he will request a recount of the result from the 20th District state Senate race.

An official tally of votes compiled by the Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers showed McCann, D-Kalamazoo, lost the election to state Rep. Margaret O'Brien, R-Portage, by just 59 votes.

More than 80,000 votes were cast in the race for the state Senate seat that covers all of Kalamazoo County. A press release issued by McCann notes that O'Brien's margin of victory was .07 percent, which represents less than one vote per precinct.

"I've heard from countless supporters over the past two weeks who have encouraged me to seek a recount, and today I'm asking for just that," McCann said in the release. "We think that this extremely close margin warrants a recount."

McCann also said voters have expressed concerns to him about problems they encountered while voting and that he feels he owes it to his supporters to ensure every vote is counted.

"As we monitored certification of the election we saw several troubling issues that we believe also supports seeking a recount," McCann said without elaborating as to what those issue were.

O'Brien said that she has "a lot of faith" that official vote tally from the Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers will stand.

The second-term representative also said she's grateful for the effort local and county clerks put into verifying the vote total and said she hopes they don't have to spend much more time on this election.

"(A recount) will take a lot of the clerks' time and I hope it doesn't take up too much of their resources," O'Brien said.

The State Board of Canvassers will meet on Monday to begin its certification of statewide election results. Once that process is complete, McCann may submit a petition to request a recount of any or all of the precincts within the 20th District.

Alex Mitchell covers county government and taxes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email him at amitche5@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.