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Michigan Taxpayers Alliance files for vote recount on SMART bus tax proposal

Posted at 10:16 PM, Aug 21, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-21 22:26:13-04

The Michigan Taxpayers Alliance (MTA) filed on Tuesday a request for votes to be recounted on the SMART bus tax proposal.

The SMART proposal, which was on the Aug. 7 Michigan primary ballot, passed by 39 votes out of almost 155,000, according to a release. 

This prompted the MTA to file a recount of 398 precincts in Macomb County. The MTA paid a fee of $25 per-precinct recount, totaling $9,950.

"Thirty-nine votes out of 155,000 is statistically a tied election," said Leon Drolet, chair of the MTA. "Over $110 million taxpayer dollars that will be taken from citizens and given to SMART are at stake, as is the principle of election integrity. Voters have a right to expect extreme scrutiny when an election is this close."

It's the Macomb County Clerk that will establish the time and place to conduct the recount. According to Drolet, the recount will likely take place in the next few weeks.