Aida Ahmed
Clark County Assistant Registrar of Voters Donna Cardinelli hand-counts the votes in Precincts 4304, 2500 and 2440 during Friday’s recount in the Ward 4 council race. The result turned out the same as the election — Wade Wagner beat incumbent Richard Cherico by one vote.
Friday, July 22, 2011 | 4:19 p.m.
Wade Wagner
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Wade Wagner is still a North Las Vegas City Councilman — after a recount today, he still holds the council's Ward 4 seat, according to Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax, who held the recount.
All of the votes remained the same at today's recount of the general election between former councilman Richard Cherchio and Wagner, who was sworn in on July 18.
The two have been fighting for the council seat since the June 7 election, when Wagner won by a single vote. Things got complicated when the Clark County Elections office discovered that one illegal ballot was cast in Precinct 4306.
Wagner sued the City of North Las Vegas after the council voted to hold a special election on July 19. The election was canceled after Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzales ruled in favor of Wagner.
Cherchio demanded a recount in Precincts 2440, 2500 and 4304 less than 24 hours after Wagner was sworn in as councilman. The three precincts, which consist of 1,092 votes, have the most mail-in votes that are more likely to reveal mistakes, making them a target for recounts. The process cost Cherico $600.
Cherchio’s attorney, Bradley Schrager, said the former councilman still has options.
“I need to discuss it with the councilman what the results of this preceding were, but there are still options because as we all know there are problems with the selections. There’s a one vote margin,” said Schrager.
Wagner’s campaign manager, Keith Buck said he was impressed with the recount’s accuracy and that Wagner will move forward as councilman.
“We’re really glad today,” said Buck. “It was a hard fought race. One vote really does count.”
Lomax said there was a greater chance for close elections when less people vote. He said only 3,600 of 40,000 eligible registered voters cast a ballot in the Ward 4 election. In all the recounts he has done since 1998, Lomax said he had never seen a vote change.
“I’m very confident in the system we use to conduct elections in Clark County,” Lomax said.
Wagner will continue to sit on the Council.
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