18-year-old mayor’s lead shrinks to 2 votes
The 18-year-old high school student elected mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan this week saw his lead melt to only two votes Thursday after the county finished its official count. Hillsdale County election officials declared Thursday that Michael Sessions, who waged a write-in campaign to oust the city’s 51-year-old mayor, won the race 670 votes to 668. The margin was far smaller than they had initially reported in a race that catapulted the tiny southern Michigan city into the national spotlight.
The current mayor, Douglas Ingles, initially said he did not plan to contest the results, but added Thursday that he had not made up his mind. Ingles has until Wednesday to seek a recount.
Sessions couldn’t put his name on the city’s ballots because he didn’t turn 18 until September, well past the filing deadline. So he mounted a write-in campaign. His victory landed Sessions in the middle of a torrent of media requests. He was in New York on Thursday and appeared on CBS’ “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Election officials originally had said Sessions defeated Ingles 732 to 668. But their tally counted every write-in vote as one for Sessions — including ballots where the candidate’s name had been left blank, Hillsdale County Clerk Thomas C. Mohr said.
Election laws require that any vote the Board of Canvassers believes was intended for Sessions be counted for him.
Source: Detroit News
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