New election ordered in St. Albans alderman’s race

ST. ALBANS — Residents in the Vermont town of St. Albans will go back to the polls to elect an alderman after a judge threw out the results over concerns about voting irregularities.
The Burlington Free Press reports after the election was held March 6, a machine count showed Ryan Doyle was ahead of Joe Luneau by five votes. But a review of the ballots at the time showed the vote count was eight shy of the number of people who cast unspoiled ballots.
A hand count later showed a two-vote victory for Doyle. Luneau asked for a recount, which still showed Doyle ahead, but by a different amount. Other problems included evidence the city clerk opened the ballot boxes without election officials present.
A judge on Tuesday ordered the new election.