Ward 5 Norman City Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello filed a petition for a vote recount after losing reelection to former Councilmember Michael Nash in the runoff election by 29 votes on April 4.
According to unofficial online results from the Oklahoma State Election Board, Nash received 50.72 percent of votes cast while Tortorello received 49.28 percent.
“I’m duty-bound to explore the possibility of winning this tight race, as my supporters have requested and my right under current law,” Tortorello wrote in a message to the OU Daily.
Nash originally held the Ward 5 seat in 2020 after being appointed to replace Sereta Wilson who stepped down from her seat, but was later defeated by Tortorello the following year in 2021. Tortorello won 51.7 percent of the vote, with incumbent Michael Nash garnering 37.6 percent in the 2021 election.
In a message sent to OU Daily, Nash said it was within Tortorello’s rights to question and challenge the results compiled by the Cleveland County Election Board.
“I look forward to witnessing the manual recount and pray that any problems discovered are swiftly and thoroughly cleansed from the system to preserve the efficacy of our democratic process,” Nash said. “What such a discovery would entail for the results of previous elections is an exercise in thought that I encourage folks to delay until we know the results of this challenge.”
According to Bryant Rians, secretary of the Cleveland County Election Board, the recount will take place on April 12 at 1:30 p.m. at the Cleveland County Courthouse in Judge Michael Tupper's chambers.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston and Karoline Leonard. Ansley Chambers copy edited this story.
