After Governor Bevin refused to concede to Andy Beshear in the governor’s race on Tuesday, numerous outlets (including this one) pointed to the three-part process for challenging the results of an election:
- Recanvass – recheck the totals from the machines and the absentee ballots (check your report, basically)
- Recount – physically recount each ballot
- Contest the election – file a challenge with the state legislature
It turns out we were wrong. As pointed out by Josh Marshall, a law professor at UK, there is no provision for a recount for a governor’s race. (You can read the pertinent statutes at this article on our site.) It goes straight from recanvass to a “contested election” in the General Assembly.
Matt Bevin has already filed his request for a recanvass. And, he is talking about “irregularities” in Tuesday’s election, so it sounds as if he is moving toward filing a challenge as well.
Buckle up, Kentucky.
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