Officials expect no change in Senate recount

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

The final results of Monday's recount of the state Senate District 4 Democratic primary -- Clark County Election Department officials hope -- will be 342 votes for Joe Neal, 261 votes for Uri Clinton and 30 votes for Christopher Montanez.

In fact, Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax is counting on the accuracy of his high-tech voting machines for those same-as-Election-Day numbers.

"The advantage of these machines is that the computers do it right the first time," Lomax said, confirming that Clinton, who failed to force a runoff by a scant six votes on Election Day, asked on Thursday for a recount.

Clinton, 27, is hoping for a four-vote turn-around of 662 ballots cast in three of the 50 voting precincts. That would put Neal, D-North Las Vegas, under the 50 percent plus one vote majority.

If that happens, both will advance to the Nov. 7 general election because there is no Republican opponent. Neal, 65, has held the post since 1972.

On Sept. 5, Neal got 2,034 votes to Clinton's 1,820 votes and Montanez's 201.

Clinton picked three precincts where 51 of the ballots were mail-ins of the punch-out variety, where the potential of human error was at its highest.

Lomax said votes on computer printouts from the machines and the little holes on the mail-in punch-card ballots will be counted by hand.