Last week, Daphne councilman and mayoral candidate John Lake received the vote recount he had requested for one of the city’s voting districts, but the result stayed exactly the same.

After a machine recount overseen by Lake, poll watchers, city staff and a representative from the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, the machine still showed the same vote count for Lake – 315 votes to incumbent Mayor Dane Haygood’s 527 votes.

Lake had originally requested a hand recount, but during its regular meeting last week, the Daphne City Council voted to proceed with a machine recount based on the advice of their legal counsel.

“We have machines on loan to us from the probate court to recount by machine ballot because Mr. Merrell (Alabama’s Secretary of State) said it is the only way to legally do a recount in Alabama,” City Attorney Jay Ross said. “If we don’t use the machine recount like Merrell suggested, we run the risk of a lawsuit.”

While some council members understood Lake’s request for a hand recount, they said they didn’t have the desire to possibly get the city into legal trouble.

“I am sympathetic to Mr. Lake’s plight and want to get this done as inexpensively as possible, but I don’t think I can possibly get the city involved in another lawsuit,” Councilman Ron Scott said.

The council set the cost of the recount at $3,637.50, which Lake paid the following morning.

Following the results of the recount, Lake said he was somewhat relieved to see the results were the same, but said he still had further questions.

“I’m happy that it was done,” Lake said. “I’m just disappointed that I found out some of the things were not done properly to protect others in the community.”

Some of Lake’s supporters on hand for the recount raised an issue with the handling of the boxes that held the votes. Questions were asked about the type of tape used to seal the boxes.

City Clerk Rebecca Hayes said one precinct box from the Daphne Civic Center polling location did have to be opened on court order, after some voting materials were accidentally sealed in one of the boxes.

Hayes said she went through the proper channels to follow procedure in doing that, receiving a court order to allow her to do so after a request from the mayor’s office.

Lake said he still had some concerns over voting procedures in some of the city’s polling places.

“The entrances were an issue, as were having no marked handicapped entrances for people to go to,” Lake said. “Some of the procedural things that are supposed to be done were not followed. Those procedures were put in there to protect the integrity of our voting system. I’m concerned that things like that could jeopardize the true vote of the people – it concerns me.”

Lake said he would abide by the results of the recount and even though he would not be serving in city government after his term expires later this year, he would still continue to serve in a private capacity.

“I’m staying actively involved,” Lake said. “This is my community. You don’t stay involved for 24 years for the money. It’s because it’s my home. I’m going to be an activist. I’m not going to allow my community to be destroyed by a few special interests.”