Alter Wins Jefferson County Senate Race – Again

The outcome of the April 5th State Senate race in northern Jefferson County will not change. A hand recount of all 23-thousand ballots cast in the contest shows Republican Bill Alter, who has already been sworn-in as a Senator, defeated Democrat Rick Johnson. The only thing that changes is the vote total. Alter’s final total is 6,880 – a gain of 15 votes. Johnson ends up with 6,808 – a gain of 11 votes. Alter had initially been declared the winner by 68 votes over Johnson. He posts a net gain of four votes. Those additions came from so-called under-votes – ballots that were not scanned by the voting machines because voters did not vote in every race on the ballot.