Recount requested for District 5 assembly seat

There will be a recount in the race for the District 5 seat on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

On Tuesday, the borough announced that candidate Clayton Tew requested the recount. On Election Day, Tew was leading incumbent Dan Mayfield by just under twenty votes. After absentee ballots were counted, the lead flipped, with Mayfield holding an eighteen-vote lead.

The only time recounts are automatic in borough elections is in the case of a tie. A candidate or group of voters may request a recount. Recounting costs $150 per precinct, but the cost is refunded in the event the result of the election changes after votes are counted again.

Mat-Su Borough Spokeswoman Patty Sullivan says the clerk’s office is assembling a canvassing board for the new count.

This is the second time in recent years that an assembly election has flipped after Election Day. In 2015, Assembly Member Randall Kowalke caught up to and ultimately defeated Doyle Holmes after absentee ballots were counted.