Christina Jedra

The News Journal

The Department of Elections will recount votes for Wilmington City Council at-large after a candidate lost by 11 votes.

Benjamin Cohen, one of three Republican general election candidates for at-large, lost to Ciro Adams by 0.01 percent of total votes Tuesday, Department of Elections data show.

Cohen got 5,007 machine votes, more than the 4,984 for Adams, the department reported. But Cohen's 267 absentee votes were outnumbered by Adams' 301 absentee votes.

Cohen said he requested a recount on election night and was initially told it would happen. The next day, the department said it didn't have the power to conduct recounts in Wilmington's general election.

"There is no provision for us to do a recount in the general election in the city of Wilmington," State Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove said Wednesday afternoon. "Our attorney is saying we don't have the authority."

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The Department of Elections canvasses all Delaware primaries, she said. The "court of canvass," appointed by the Superior Court, canvasses all general elections, with the exception of Wilmington, she said. The Department of Elections canvasses general election races in the city, but officials didn't believe they had the power to conduct recounts.

On Thursday, Manlove said an attorney for the Republican Party pointed out another section of the legal code that allows for a recount in the city's general election. A recount of absentee ballots is scheduled at the department headquarters at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Manlove said she is glad the law allows for a recount.

"We wanted to do it," she said. "It's who we are. We are big on transparency."

Automatic recounts are triggered when results are separated by half of 1 percent or less, Manlove said, but the department cooperates with recount requests at their discretion.

"If it's not crazy like a 2-to-1 lead, we've done it," she said. "We're happy to do that."

Recounts are open to the public and involve Department of Elections officials checking absentee ballots by hand, Manlove said.

"Machine votes are machine votes," she said. "That's part of canvassing the election."

Manlove said Cohen's recount will be the only one conducted.

"That's the only one that is close enough," she said. "Nobody has requested one."

Cohen and Adams ran against fellow Republican Robert Keesler, three Democrats and one Independent candidate for four at-large seats. In a politically blue city, the three Democrats – Loretta Walsh, Samuel L. Guy and Rysheema Dixon – were the top three vote-getters, with over 17,000 votes each. One of the four at-large seats must go to a minority party candidate. The seat will be vacated this year by Republican Michael A. Brown Sr., who is retiring from the council after three terms.

Cohen said on Thursday that a recount in such a tight race "just makes sense."

"I'm extremely proud of the work my team has done," he said. "Well-wishes and comments on the quality of my campaign team continue to flow in. I'm both honored and humbled by the confidence they have placed in me."

Contact Christina Jedra at cjedra@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2837 or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.