CONCORD — Republican Richard Beaudoin won one of four seats to represent Laconia in the state House of Representatives by just one vote, following a decision Monday by the state Ballot Law Commission.
A recount held Nov. 16, switched the outcome of the fourth-place finisher, finding that Beaudoin beat Democrat Gail Ober by two votes, with a tally of 2,588 votes for Beaudoin and 2,586 for Ober. The result from election night showed Ober and beaten Beaudoin by 10 votes — 2,579 votes to 2,569.
Two of the ballots in the recount were contested. On Monday the Ballot Law Commission reversed the recount decision one ballot, but upheld the decision on the other, according to Assistant Secretary of State David Scanlan.
In the ballot that was reversed, Scanlan said, instead of filling in the oval next to the name of candidates of the voter’s choice, the voter drew a line through the candidates’ names and the oval, and so the panel concluded the voter’s intent could not be determined with any reasonable certainty.
A message left on Ober’s phone seeking comment was not returned. A call to Beaudoin’s residence seeking comment was not answered.
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