Though the recount didn’t make up the 20-point margin for Afonso, it did reveal some miscalculations. In the race to succeed federally convicted Tania Fernandes Anderson on the Boston City Council, Ahmed went from 1,155 to 1,170 votes, Culpepper gained 10 votes, and Afonso gained five.
Before the results were announced, Afonso told the Globe that the recount was necessary to ensure the democratic process is working.
“This is what democracy is all about,” he said.
He could not be reached for comment afterwards.
The recount will continue Monday morning in the mayoral election, where third-place finisher Domingos DaRosa is vying for a spot on the November ballot in lieu of Josh Kraft dropping out.
The recount was initially slated for Saturday, but a water main leak amid an eventful rodeo just outside City Hall led to a delay. The only remaining signs of the previous day’s chaos at City Hall Plaza were scattered piles of horse manure and a few puddles of water.
When Kraft dropped out after current Mayor Michelle Wu swept 264 of the city’s 275 precincts, DaRosa, 48, said his supporters were surprised to learn that his name would not appear on the general election ballot as a second contender.
In Boston, a mayoral candidate needs 3,000 votes in the preliminary election to appear on the November ballot. DaRosa earned 2,409, according to the unofficial tally.
“I want folks to see that the underdog is still in the fight,” DaRosa told the Globe.
DaRosa had six days to gather at least 50 signatures from each ward to call for a recount. The 600 votes to get the Hyde Park activist to 3,000 must come from Wards 4, 8, 9, 16, and 18 ― five out of the city’s 22 wards that had enough people sign the petition.
Inside City Hall, election workers and volunteers milled about the lower level with clipboards and pens, talking in hushed whispers. Few were seen without a hot coffee tumbler or a plastic Starbucks or Dunkin’ cup.
“I need some sugar,” a worker quipped as he grabbed sugar packets off a folding table. Other volunteers did stretches in between making notes on their clipboards. Pizza was served at noon.
The historic recount ― only the second in 40 years ― is expected to last multiple days.
DaRosa said the main reason he called for a recount concerned the lack of education surrounding the preliminary election.
“How do you get the community to get involved if you only show two individuals?” he said. “The recount is to show the full process of what it entails to be a candidate.”
As the results of the District 7 recount were announced, best candidates Ahmed and Culpepper embraced.
“This confirmed that democracy is well and alive and the elections department did their job,” Culpepper said. “The people of District 7 are telling me they want me to keep going and they want me to do it in the city capacity.”
“We are truly grateful for this process,” Ahmed added. “It’s not an easy process. It’s months of knocking on doors, talking to community members, raising funds, being there. It’s worth it all.”
Alexa Coultoff can be reached at alexa.coultoff@globe.com. Follow her @alexacoultoff.
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