Ada County highway commissioner lost election, sued for recount. A judge just ruled
Rebecca Arnold’s bid to keep her seat on the Ada County Highway District commission may now be over after a judge dismissed her appeal of the results of a recount vote.
Arnold lost the ACHD seat she’s held for four terms to opponent and political newcomer Alexis Pickering by two votes, according to an election night tally, and by four votes after a recount.
Arnold, a Boise lawyer, had sued her opponent as well as two Ada County officials, alleging that votes were not counted properly according to state law and asking for a second recount done by hand. She also asked that some votes be thrown out.
Senior Fourth District Judge Ronald Wilper in Boise dismissed the appeal Monday. In his dismissal, he wrote that Ada County Clerk Phil McGrane and county Prosecutor Jan Bennetts followed the rules laid out for recounts in Idaho law.
He also wrote that he did not believe that a hand count would necessarily get a more accurate result.
“This is because the element of human error is introduced in any hand-count, especially a hand-count of thousands of ballots,” he wrote.
The dismissal likely means that Pickering will be the next ACHD commissioner representing District 2, which generally extends from the Boise River west to Linder Road, south of Ustick Road and north of Interstate 84, including part of the Boise Bench. Pickering is a community health strategist with the Central District Health Department.
She represents a departure from Arnold, who is a generally conservative voice on the nonpartisan commission. The longest-serving member of the ACHD commission, Arnold has often advocated for more car-centric roadways. Pickering, meanwhile, has advocated for more bike lanes and other transit options.
Melanie Folwell, Pickering’s campaign manager, said in a text message that Ada County’s recount was thorough. Recounts, she said, are typically more accurate than results on election night, because they are more carefully handled.
“We are pleased that the court recognized this, and, as we argued, found no legal error,” Folwell said.
David Leroy, Arnold’s attorney as well as a former Idaho attorney general and lieutenant governor, said Arnold was studying the court decision. In an email to local news media, he said the dismissal “(left) some questions unresolved” and did not rule out the potential for an appeal.
“With a two- or four-vote margin, all such issues clearly have the potential to affect the outcome of this race,” Leroy said. “Commissioner Arnold, with her many years of service on the Ada County Highway District, will make a decision to what is in the public’s best interest later this week.”
McGrane said that the elections office plans to spend “additional time trying to better understand everything we learned during this process” to better future Ada County elections.
“Elections have faced so many new and unique challenges this year,” he said by email. “The razor-thin margins, recount, and appeal in the ACHD Commissioner Zone 2 race fit right in with many other things we experienced for the first time.”
The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment.
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 10:47 AM.
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