NEW: West Boylston Candidate Drops Recount Request

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Friday, June 08, 2012

Sandy Meindersma, GoLocalWorcester Reporter

Ousted Selectman Allen Phillips has dropped his request for a recount after a meeting with Town Clerk Kim Hopewell.

Phillips, who lost his bid for a fourth term, originally said he wanted the recount because he was concerned about the integrity of the results.

When Hopewell announced the results of the election, she read the numbers from a spreadsheet and reported vote totals that exceeded the total number of voters.

Although the selectmen's race was not affected, all other races in town had inflated results because a column was double counted.

Phillips said he was satisfied with the results after his meeting with Hopewell.

"She's guaranteed that she's gone over the numbers 50 times, and I have no reason to think they are inaccurate," Phillips said.

Even so, Hopewell is taking steps to avoid a similar occurrence in future elections.

"In the future, we're going to use paper from now on. It was an honest mistake, and he knows that," Hopewell said. "Allen was only looking out for the best interest of the town."