New Year, new judge? Vote recount for Fayette family court judge to take place in 2023
.png "Carl Devine and Tiffany Yahr are running for the seat on the bench in the 22nd Judicial Circuit’s 6th Division. The election takes place Nov. 8, 2022.")
Update 12/19: A $70,000 hand-recount has been ordered by Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis to take place in the new year to determine final results for a narrow Fayette County Family Court race in the November election.
Carl Devine, who was narrowly defeated in a race for Fayette County Family Court judge by challenger Tiffany Yahr, posted $70,000 cash bond on Dec. 9 to pay for a recount. He also filed a court motion that day asking to have that bond amount changed.
On Thursday afternoon, a special hearing was held to determine if his motion would be granted, and to discuss a fixed date for the recount process to begin. Specifically, the hearing was to show evidence that would determine the actual cost of a recount and more specifics about how the recount would take place.
Judge Thomas Travis decided not to lower the bond of the recount. He stated that Fayette Clerk Don Blevins Jr. had to find anywhere between 40 and 50 election officers to conduct the recount. Travis also stated each officer would be paid $25 an hour to help conduct the count.
In addition, the recount is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3, and last anywhere from three to five days. Travis made a determination on whether the count would be done by hand, or by machines -- which was a major point of discussion during the hearing. An order will be issued at a later time to make a final resolution.
He ordered that the count of 107,000 paper ballots be done by hand in an order on Dec. 19.
“We want to make sure we are being transparent, accurate and fair,” Travis said.
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 Travis to order a recount.
At that point, Travis ruled that Devine would need to cover the cost of the recount.
Blevins -- who announced he would be resigning from office at the end of the year -- testified previously that cost estimate included having a third-party vendor program provide the voting machine for a recount, as well as staffing and security.
Devine’s attorney, Scott White, presented an estimate recount cost analysis on Thursday that totaled just under $10,000. White also projected in his analysis that a hand recount could take two days with 40 individuals working for six to eight hours. He estimated this number of people would total about 72,000 ballots counted in a day and a half.
White also gave a similar breakdown over the course of three days, as well as six days for the same amount.
White asked for a reduced bond of $15,000 just for some “wiggle room.”
However, Blevins argued this analysis was a “fallacy” and “not realistic.” Blevins was adamant that he would not only prefer a machine recount, but that it would be more accurate than a hand count. However, Devine alleged that in previous hearings Blevins made mention that a hand count was the only option going forward.
“That is not realistic,” Blevins said of White’s cost analysis. “(White) is forgetting we have to count and then recount. People make mistakes. ... It takes time.”
Anna Whites, attorney for Yahr, said the hearing was purely academic, and that time spent determining specifics of the recount went against the benefit of her client, as well as family court as a whole.
“The judge elect has had to give up her job so as long as this lasts, (Yahr) is jobless,” Whites said. “And the impact on the persons who should be appearing before family court may have to be appearing before transitional judges, however qualified they are, is hard.”
She added, “The idea that any of us could sit down with no experience and say, ‘I think you could do 10 minute (counts)’ seems like guess work. I think the ballot is set and we have already wasted time looking at the bond. We have wasted hours on this. Every hour we are not moving towards a resolution is harming the people who come before the court, as well as the judge elect, and I’m sure Judge Devine as well.”
Whites said in a previous email 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.
Reporters Karla Ward and Beth Musgrave contributed to this story.
This story was originally published December 15, 2022 at 4:51 PM.
