2006 Vermont elections

The Vermont Election in 2006 consisted of elections for federal, state, and local elections. All state offices were for two years; all terms expired in 2006. Elections included the gubernatorial, all state offices, including all state senators and representatives, the federal Congress and the U.S. Senate.

A primary election in August determined which candidates parties would choose to run in the general election in November.

Local elections occurred during the town meeting in March.

Auditor of Accounts

In 2006, a close general election for Auditor of Accounts prompted a recount which overturned the original count. This was one of two state results overturned anywhere in the nation from 1980 through 2006. It was the seventh recount in Vermont's history and the only one that overturned an original count.[1]

Candidates

Election and recount

Unofficial election night results had Democrat Thomas M. "Tom" Salmon losing to Republican incumbent Randolph D. "Randy" Brock by over 800 votes. But when the certified results were announced a few days later, Brock was leading by only 137 votes (with over 250,000 votes cast). Given the closeness of the election, Salmon, in accordance with Title 17, section 2602(b) of the state statutes, then petitioned the Washington County Superior Court for a recount.

As recounted results began coming in from the state's 14 Counties, Brock's lead soon disappeared, and Salmon took the lead.

On December 21, 2006 Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout declared Salmon the winner by a margin of 102 votes over Brock.

This was the first statewide recount in Vermont in 26 years. According to the state archivist, it is also the first time in the state's history that a certified election was overturned on the basis of a recount. Also, according to Brock, this may have been the closest statewide election in the state's history.

Salmon took office on January 4, 2007.

Results

The unofficial recount results as of December 19, 2006, as reported by the Vermont Secretary of State's office (these results do not include small changes due to the counting of 62 provisional and vote by phone ballots, and due to the court's resolution of a small number of disputed ballots, that were included in the final results):

Candidate Party Original Count Recount Change in Votes
Martha Abbott Progressive 23,545 23,483 -62
Randy Brock Republican 111,486 111,637 +151
Jerry Levy Liberty Union 4,229 3,913 -316
Thomas M. Salmon (Winner) Democratic 111,349 111,741 +392

References
  1. Hallenbeckl, Terri (29 August 2010). "Recounts are rare and changes even more so". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. pp. 1A.
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