Incumbent who lost tight race for Fayette Family Court judge posts $70,000 bond for recount
.png "Carl Devine and Tiffany Yahr were contenders for the seat on the bench in the 22nd Judicial Circuit’s 6th Division.")
Carl Devine, who was narrowly defeated in a race for Fayette County Family Court judge by challenger Tiffany Yahr, posted $70,000 bond on Friday to pay for a recount. He also filed a court motion Friday asking to have that bond amount changed.
In the November election for the 22nd Judicial Circuit 6th Division, Yahr won by 127 votes. Devine, who was appointed to the seat held by Judge Kathy Stein after her retirement in February, asked Fayette Circuit Court Judge Thomas Travis to order a recount.
After a hearing in the case, Travis ruled that Devine would have to pay for a recount and ordered that he post a bond of $70,000 by Friday to cover the cost, which had been estimated at about $70,000 by Fayette County Clerk Don Blevins Jr.
Blevins, who is resigning from office by the end of January, testified during the hearing and said his cost estimate included having a third-party vendor program the voting machines for a recount, along with staffing and security.
In a motion filed Friday in Fayette Circuit Court, Devine’s attorney, Scott White, argues that Devine should be afforded another hearing to present evidence showing that the actual cost of a recount would be much less than $70,000 and to set procedures for a recount.
The motion indicates that Devine may still appeal the judge’s decision on the question of whether he ought to be required to pay for the recount at all.
White states in the motion that a hand recount is necessary and says that there’s been “no real evidence” presented “on how a hand recount will be undertaken, nor how much that mode of recount will cost. It was all pure speculation, and that characterization is generous.”
“Blevins testified that the recount would cost between $70,000 - $100,000. This was based on his certainty that the programmer vendor, Harp, would charge the same fee as it did for the General Election – approximately $70,000. However, as we expected and insisted in the hearing, when forced to actually find out that cost by contacting the vendor, Blevins learned the cost was $17,735,” the motion states.
“We believe that the $17,735 itself is too high. Based on information we obtained from Harp and Hart (the manufacturer of the voting machines used by Fayette County), the cost will be significantly less.”
He asks that the Dec. 5 order be altered, amended or vacated regarding the $70,000 bond, “given that such an amount is inaccurate and not reasonable” and that a hearing be scheduled “for the parties to introduce evidence on both the cost of the bond and the recount process.”
The motion also asks that the judge order the ballots from the election to be preserved and “require the voting machines, voting equipment,voting systems, ballots, ballot boxes, and all paper pertaining to the general election be secured.”
Yahr’s attorney, Anna Whites, said in an email Friday evening that she will ask Gov. Andy Beshear to nominate Yahr to cover family court until the matter is settled, “so that there is continuity for persons who come before the Court” after Jan. 1.
