The discovery of a memory card in Cobb County, Georgia, has flipped the results of a local election, changing the projected winner in the Kennesaw City Council Post 1 special election.
Madelyn Orochena was originally projected winner and had announced her victory on social media, but after the 789 uncounted ballots were tallied, Lynette Burnette was shown to have won by 31 votes.
“Official results have been posted,” she wrote on Instagram. “We did it!”
Orochena followed up with details about when the swearing-in ceremony would take place, only to issue another post stating that she received a phone call on Nov. 16 informing her about the memory card.
The county's Board of Elections and Registration Office explained in a statement:
“In preparation for Thursday’s Risk Limiting Audit, Cobb Elections officials discovered a memory card had not been correctly uploaded. This card was then uploaded and included in the results sent to the Secretary of State’s office. The votes on the card came from the Kennesaw area and did result in a change in the winner of the Kennesaw City Council Special Post 1 election. The Board of Elections and Registration will be asked to recertify the results of the November 8th general and special election during a meeting on Friday."
Orochena blasted the “shameful” flip and said, “our faith in our governing bodies continues to fail," Fox News reports.
She said she will file a complaint with the Secretary of State's Office and is seeking legal counsel.
According to the county Board of Elections and Registration Office, "because of the narrow margin of victory, the board agreed to recount the race as required by state law."
The recount began Sunday at noon and will continue Monday, Nov. 21 at 9 a.m.