FORT MYERS, Fla. — A Fort Myers Ward 4 candidate says she is demanding a recount - even though it is unlikely.
The Lee County Supervisors of Elections says the Florida statute determines when a recount is necessary.
"My main concern is that every vote is counted," says Dr. Cindy Banyai, who ran against and lost to incumbent Liston Bochette by 77 votes.
Banyai says she is worried about the election's accuracy - specifically the provisional and vote-by-mail ballots count.
Miyoshi Price reached out to Bochette for comment, but has not received a response yet.
"I was very proud that we were very close," says Banyai. "But then I knew that we want to make sure that all the votes are counted, so I started looking at the options that we have."
During a canvassing board meeting at the Lee County Supervisors of Elections office on Friday, Banyai expressed concerned over unscanned ballots although the ballots are from all over Lee County.
"There were people that had votes that needed to be counted," says Banyai.
"So those are people that voted by mail, but they missed a signature."
At the meeting, the board decided to add a large stack of verified election-day ballots, which are county-wide, to the count.
No votes changed in the Ward 4 race following the meeting.
Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle says a recount is less likely to happen.
"A mandatory recount is triggered when there's one half of 1%," say Doyle.
He says that in Banyai's race, the difference is 1.58 %.
"It's very clear in the Florida statutes what determines a recount," says Doyle.
Banyai says she will not rest and will seek legal action after learning that there could have been issues with ballots during early voting and mail-in ballots.
The Supervisors of Elections office shares that "The small number that were reported were resent to the voter and the issue resolved."
