By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Seventy-three votes that went uncounted following Hooksett's second school budget vote on May 31 were counted on Tuesday, June 6, but the end result stayed the same. The budget passed, this time 690-642.

Hooksett school moderator David Hess, School District Clerk Olive Mathewson, community volunteers and members of the school board all gathered to witness the recount. Town Councilor Philip Fitanides, who filed the petition asking for the recount, was also in attendance.

Voters approved the slimmeddown budget last week by a narrow 55-vote margin, 656- 601. Seventy-three ballots were considered to be left blank by machine count.

Mathewson said the machines will throw out ballots that are marked incorrectly. She said two types of voter mistakes were most apparent during the recount process. Some voters filled out the ballot in pencil, rather than with the special pen provided in the booth. Also, some voters marked the ballot incorrectly, using checks or circles instead of filling in the proper area.

The recount showed that no blank ballots were intended. Hess examined each of the ballots in question, and got a general consensus from the group about each voter's intention, Mathewson said. She added that, "Everyone was fine with the recount. There was no trouble."

The process of a recount began Friday, June 3, following the election when Fitanides presented the town with a petition.

Fitanides said he acted because he had several "constituent concerns," and because he said the 73 blank ballots struck him as an unusually high number.

"I believe the voters have a right to find out what those blanks are," Fitanides said. "One of the things that concerned me was a total lack of security at the polls."

Though only 10 signatures from registered voters were needed for the petition, Fitanides said he had already submitted 27, with an anticipated 30 to 40 on the way before the recount. Hooksett School Board member Ron Dion said he welcomed the recount.

"I don't have any animosity towards anyone for wanting a recount," Dion said. "Everyone's vote should count."

Dion said the uncertainty that has surrounded the budget has caused the board some delays in making decisions that normally would be decided by this time of year.

"The longer it takes for us to figure out how much money we're going to have, the harder everything is going to be," Dion said the day before the recount.

He said some extracurricular programs, some personnel changes and some supplies have all been left undecided for longer than is typical by this stage in the year.

"We get more and more nervous as time goes on," he said.

With the budget apparently decided for good, the school board can now go forward with spending decisions based on the new budget figures.