For Immediate Release
 
MANCHESTER, NH  September 24, 2021 — Republican Manchester mayoral candidate Richard H. Girard announced today he has filed for a recount of Tuesday’s election results.  Girard finished third in the primary, just 128 votes behind second place finisher Victoria Sullivan.

“As President Ronald Reagan famously said, ‘Trust, but verify.’  Since announcing I was considering a recount, I have heard from dozens of supporters who’ve encouraged me to ask for one.  No supporter has said not to.  Given how hard fought the race was, how diligently our team worked, how very close the result was and that nearly 10% of the votes cast were by absentee ballot, I think it reasonable and appropriate to recount the vote.  I also think that what happened in the 2020 state representative races in Windham makes it imperative to verify the results in a race where the margin of victory was so close.  If nothing else, it will give people confidence in the results and the machines that counted them.”

A recount of the 2020 state representative races in Windham uncovered significant irregularities in the count in one of Windham’s four voting machines.  Before the recount, Democrat Kristy St. Laurent had lost by 24 votes.  After the recount, she’s lost by more than 400 votes, losing 99 votes on her total while all four Republican candidates gained roughly 300 votes.