Editor’s note: (7:35pm) The featured image was updated to reflect the public notice of the recall date, time, and location.
Update: (9:20pm) The article has been updated to explain the recount process.
A recount has officially been triggered in the May 3 Orleans Parish Sheriff’s millage race, just days after the narrow measure passed by only two votes. As Big Easy Magazine previously reported, the 2.46 mill property tax renewal squeaked by with 12,715 votes in favor and 12,713 against.
A New Orleans voter has submitted a formal recount request to the office of Orleans Parish Chief Elections Officer Darren Lombard, along with a $2,155 fee to cover staffing and administrative costs. The voter, identified as Danil Faust, a resident of the city’s French Quarter neighborhood, said he requested the recount over concerns that several absentee ballots may have been misapplied or miscounted.
When a recount is requested, the Clerk of Civil District Court—Darren P. Lombard—must accept both the request and the required fees. After that, the responsibility shifts to the Registrar of Voters, Lisa Manning Bridges, and the Louisiana Secretary of State, who coordinate the recount on the designated day. The recount is conducted under the direction of the Secretary of State, with the Orleans Parish Board of Election Supervisors present to assist in the process.
The public is allowed to observe the proceedings but is prohibited from interfering. Only paper ballots received during early voting and absentee voting are hand-counted. After the process concludes, the Secretary of State and the Orleans Parish Board of Election Supervisors will publicly announce the final total of votes counted.
The recount is scheduled for Thursday, May 8 at Civil District Court on the first floor. The exact start time has not been announced, but the process is expected to last three to four hours.
The razor-thin margin in this race has sparked renewed debate over voter turnout and ballot processing procedures. The result—if it stands—will allow the Sheriff’s Office to maintain funding at its current level through 2035. Sheriff Susan Hutson has stated the millage is critical to funding jail operations and constitutional reforms.
Big Easy Magazine will continue to follow developments on the recount.
