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There will be a recount in St. Saviour for Constable after a discrepancy was discovered between the number of recorded ballots cast and the number of votes counted on the night.
Sealed ballot boxes will be broken and people outside of the parish will conduct the recount.
The recount was ordered by the Royal Court on Wednesday morning after an anomaly was discovered by the Judicial Greffier, after he had reviewed all official electoral forms.
A document, signed by the official overseeing the St. Saviour election on 22 June, recorded the number of ballots cast in the election for Constable as 3,158.
However, the total number of votes cast for Kevin Lewis and ‘None of the Above’ was 2,698 - a discrepancy of 460 votes.
Constable Lewis received 1,552 votes and there were 1,142 None of the Above votes - a difference of 410 votes.
This means that, if there is a discrepancy and more than 410 of the 460 votes were for None of the Above, that choice would have ‘won’ the election.
The recount will be overseen by the Master of the Royal Court, Advocate Matthew Thompson, and will take place no later than end of business on Wednesday 20 July.
Constable Lewis, who was present in Court on Wednesday, told the Court that he had been “shocked” when told of the recount but was fully supportive of it.
Pictured: The recount was ordered by the Royal Court on Wednesday.
Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, who was sitting with Jurats Jerry Ramsden and Robert Christensen, officially ordered the recount, adding a condition that no one who took part in the 22 June count should be involved.
If more None of the Above votes are recorded in the recount, another election for Constable will be held.
The St. Saviour Constable election attracted more None of the Above votes than any other parish.
The option, first proposed by St. Martin Constable Karen Shenton-Stone, was introduced for the first time last month to add an element of competition to elections where there were uncontested seats.
In total, eight Constable’ elections had a ‘NOTA’ option, with all candidates securing more votes than ‘None of the Above’ on the night.
In St. Brelade, posters and banners promoted the ‘NOTA’ option in an effort to unseat incumbent Constable Mike Jackson.
None of the Above: NOTA-lotta fun for some Constables...
Express explained how the 'None of the Above' vote works in four minutes in its Election Disassembled podcast...
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