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Maria Giesta, the Ward 2 city councilor who lost reelection to Scott Pemberton by 17 votes, has filed for a recount.

The four-term incumbent gathered more than the required 10 signatures needed to file a recount petition, which she submitted on Thursday with the elections office in City Hall. Once the signatures are certified and a date is set, the elections office will hand-count the ballots and certify the final results.

Manuel DeBrito, chair of the elections commission, told The Light that the electronic voting machines are highly accurate. A hand recount could find human error, such as ballots that were improperly or incompletely marked — like with a checkmark, rather than filling in the bubble — that the voting machines do not tally. 

If the voter made their intent clear (such as checks being used throughout their ballot), their vote may be counted. 

“I’m very confident in the machines and the poll workers doing their jobs,” DeBrito said. “But everyone has a right to ask for a recount, and [Giesta] is exercising that right.”

DeBrito said that hand recounts typically find a very small number of errors — sometimes one or two, in DeBrito’s experience — but rarely enough to overturn even very close elections. 

In the Ward 2 results, which were decided by 17 votes, 453-436, there were 35 blanks and no write-ins. The unofficial results from Election Day include all absentee and mail-in ballots, which were required to be received by the elections office before polls closed. 

In Massachusetts, recounts can be viewed by the public and the press. All regulations for the recount are detailed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. DeBrito said that the process has already begun — he’s looking for staff to work the recount, a police officer to monitor, and a location where it can take place. 

When a final location is chosen, the elections office will announce it at least three days in advance. Typically they happen at City Hall or at the downtown public library, and DeBrito expects it could happen next week.

The last official city recount was in 2021 for the Ward 1 race, according to DeBrito. Recounts are common, and in last year’s state representative race the office completed a regular audit of its voting results, which is the same process as a recount.

Neither Giesta nor Pemberton immediately responded to a request for comment. 

Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org

4 replies on “Maria Giesta files for a Ward 2 recount”

  2. The port authority article was eye opening. What a shame. Some accountability needs to happen. Where is the missing money? And why are rents less than decades ago?

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