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CASSOPOLIS — A recount of the contest for the Republican nomination for Penn Township Treasurer took place Friday afternoon after a last minute court hearing Friday morning failed to stop the recount from taking place.

          Results from the Aug. 6 election had incumbent Penn Township Treasurer Paul Rutherford receiving 281 votes to challenger Jodi Bucher’s 280 votes. Bucher filed a petition for a recount on Aug. 15 and then filed two more petitions on Aug. 19.

Cass County Clerk/Register Monica McMichael reported late Friday that the hand recount itself didn’t change the results and actually ended up with Rutherford gaining a vote. The recount final tally was Rutherford getting 282 votes to Bucher’s 280 votes.

Friday was the last day for recounts to take place around the state before finalizing the November ballot.

     The Cass County Board of Canvassers met Aug. 28 to hear Rutherford’s objections to a recount but voted to allow the recount to happen. After that hearing, Rutherford’s attorneys filed a temporary restraining order and request for a preliminary injunction to halt the recount again.

     Friday’s hearing before Cass County Chief Judge Carol Bealor was on the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction request and featured arguments from Rutherford attorney Zachery Larsen and Eric Doster representing Cass County including Clerk/Register Monica McMichael.

     Larsen reiterated the arguments made last week before the Board of Canvassers. He claimed that Bucher’s petition for a recount was not filed in a timely manner and failed to offer specific information relative to claims of “fraud” or “mistake” needed to have a recount.

     Doster also made similar arguments to the ones he made last week. He said that Bucher’s petition was filed timely as it was filed two days after the Board of Canvassers certified the election on Aug. 13. He said Larsen’s claim was not valid that the petition had to be filed within six days of Aug. 8 when the canvass started.

     As for the need for specific information, Doster pointed out state election law requires only that the requesting party believes that an error, mistake or fraud has occurred. He said an error, mistake or fraud does not  have to be proved to move a recount forward.

     “If their claims are true that people have to have substantial allegations to have a recount, we would never have a recount in the state,” he said.

     Judge Bealor ruled in favor of the county after a short recess to go over the facts. She said the plain and ordinary meaning of the law indicated to her that the recount could go forward.

     The judge put off ruling on Doster’s request to have Rutherford pay the county’s attorney fees. Doster claimed that he talked with Rutherford’s attorneys at the Aug. 28 hearing and that they failed to inform him of their intention to immediately file the temporary restraining order and request for a preliminary injunction.